Thirteen
by Jason Bond
Summary: In the Earth year 2280, the Colonial Battlestar Galactica encounters an Earth Alliance fleet, and the Cylons find themselves faced with a new enemy. Story starts from the end of Pegasus episode of BSG. Rewrite coming in'08 because if ideas from BSG Razor
1. Uncovering the Forbidden Past

**Writers note: This project starts off with the events shortly after the events of the second season episode, "Pegasus", of the re-imagined series Battlestar Galactica, as well as in the Earth year 2280 in the Babylon 5 timeline, roughly several months before the death of Interstellar Alliance president John J. Sheridan. It takes place roughly a year after the death of Centauri emperor Londo Mollari and the ascension of Vir Cotto to that post. **

**Battlestar Galactica and Babylon 5 are the intellectual properties of the respective creators and are copyrighted by the respective owners of said copyrights. This story is not meant for profit, but to pay tribute to two great television series.**

**This work is also dedicated to the memory of Richard Biggs, who played Doctor Stephen Franklin on Babylon 5.**

**Thirteen**

**Chapter One:**

**Uncovering the Forbidden Past to Discover the Foreboding Future**

"When I told the crew that the myth of Earth was real, I was lying through my teeth. I never really believed that it existed. I never was much for religion to begin with. Granted, I started to buy into what Roslin was selling, with the Prophesy of Pythia and all of that. I never suspected, not for a second, that any of it would come true.

"_All I wanted was to find a safe haven for our people, because that seemed more realistic to me. I never expected to find it in the hands of people from Earth._

"_These last few years have been bizarre, as the Second Cylon War came to an end, in ways none of us would have ever expected. What we found when we realized who the Cylon 'God' was shocked us all, and it revealed that a lot of our history had been manipulated by forces way beyond my comprehension. _

"_We've won the war, but the price was so high. All those lives lost…it still boggles my mind at how many were sacrificed on our behalf. They barely knew us, and they laid their lives on the line for us. It's something that has restored my faith in humanity, both my own side and those from Earth._

"_We met them in their year 2280, and our safe haven was a place called Babylon 5…"_

_-Admiral William "Husker" Adama (retired)_

_Colonial Fleet, Battlestar Galactica_

Earth Alliance President Garrison Hollifield hated physicals, but at least a friend was doing this one. Doctor Stephen Franklin, as the head of the Xenobiological Institute, wasn't supposed to have this as part of his duties, but he gladly did it because it helped keep certain secrets under wraps.

"So how do I look, Doc?" said Hollifield. A dark haired, stocky man in his mid-sixties, Hollifield looked much healthier than his age belied. He sat up on the examination table and looked at Dr. Franklin, who was looking over a report on a computer display.

After a moment, Franklin scratched his chin and looked up from the display. "Well, for someone of your age, you look pretty damn healthy. Too healthy, in fact. Which makes me glad you came to me for your examinations, because if anyone knew…"

"I know. Last thing I need is the news of what I am leaking out to the media. If Dr. Donovan hadn't passed away before I took office, I wouldn't need your services. Well, at least I feel like I'm going to be here for a few more years at least, unless an assassin blows my brains out, of course."

Franklin grunted and went back to his display briefly to log in the last of the details of the president's physical. The doctor was a gray haired male of African descent, who also, despite being in his late fifties, was in excellent shape. He kept his hair cropped to a short fade, and his body looked like he was still in peak shape after all these years.

"So, how's the First Lady? Is she recovering well?" asked Franklin.

"Twanissa's going to take a while recovering from the accident. She'll walk again, thank God, but she'll never be the same. Who would have thought that she could get hurt that bad from just riding a bike down a hill?" replied the president.

That's when the vision hit him…

Kara "Starbuck" Thrace walked into the Tomb of Athena with her commanding officer, Commander William Adama, as well as Colonial President Laura Roslin and her CAG Lee "Apollo" Adama. Apollo was the leader of the Viper pilots on board the Colonial Battlestar Galactica, and was Starbuck's immediate commanding officer. But in this moment, it seemed that Starbuck was calling the shots.

She sighted the statue of the archer Sagittaron and took out the Arrow of Apollo, and slowly approached it. She gently placed the arrow in the hands of the archer and a flash of light overcame all four of them…

Hollifield was in a room of some sort, he knew that at least. It was a very spacious room, sort of like a warehouse of some sort. It was dark, and the odd thing was that there was wheat covering the ground. He looked around and saw four people inside the room with him: an older Hispanic looking male in a military-style uniform, a Caucasian woman who had dark reddish brown hair and looked to be in her early to mid 50s, a young blonde woman with short hair and a pack slung over her back, and a young dark haired male who wore a camouflage jacket. They didn't notice him, it seemed, and he didn't feel like trying to communicate with them, because it felt to him like he was being projected to another place.

"They should not be here." Hollifield turned to see Lyta Alexander, long deceased, standing before him. She had died during the Telepath War, in its final stages of the war in 2266. Hollifield, then the vice president, had gone to find her and the resistance moment to Psi Corps somewhere in and around Geneva. He had found her inside a tunnel deep under Teeptown, or the Psi Corps complex where telepaths are trained and regulated on Earth, and she had planned to sacrifice herself to stop the renegade Psi Cop Alfred Bester and his forces from winning the war. He had failed to stop her from blowing up part of the complex where Bester's forces were housed, and he barely managed to escape himself.

"Why are they here?" he asked Lyta.

"They are searching for Earth." Lyta said, looking at the foursome. Hollifield looked up and saw the twelve constellations of the Zodiac. He turned back to Lyta, who added, "They are our descendants. Long ago, they were part of our race, but they were taken away from us."

"Why? Were the Vorlons involved?" asked Hollifield as he watched the four stare at wonder at the constellations above them.

Lyta looked at him and said, "Garrison, what _haven't_ the Vorlons been involved with? They are part of the past. Another mistake by the Vorlons in their quest to defeat the Shadows."

"Are they telepathic?"

"No, they aren't telepathic. The Vorlons never got that far with them. All I know is that they are directly related to us, and that they are searching for us."

"So what is this place?" he said as he watched them begin to depart.

Lyta smiled and said in a very Vorlon-esque way, "The past, the present, and the future." The vision then ended and he snapped back into reality.

Franklin stood before him and looked him over as Hollifield came out of the vision. "Are you ok, Garrison?" he asked.

Hollifield blinked his eyes and tried to refocus his mind. "Yeah, I think so. I had…a vision of some sort."

"A vision?" Franklin asked.

"Yeah, a vision. I don't know what it means or what it portends, but it means _something_. Look what happened when Sheridan got his vision of the Drakh fleet coming to Earth to attack."

Franklin shook his head and said, "Are you sure about this? If it were anyone else, I'd say you were crazy. With you…"

"Yeah, I know. I get the feeling that something is coming, but I don't know what yet. I've got that state dinner with the new Centauri emperor tonight, and Vir Cotto's brought along Lady Morella for some reason on this trip. Maybe he knows something, or she knows something."

Hollifield left the doctor's office and went through the hospital to his wife's room. Twanissa Hollifield (nee Hudson) had been the commanding officer on the _Victory_-class starship _Freedom_ during the Drakh plague, and they had grown close as they raced to find a cure. Along with the crews of _Excalibur _and _Liberty_, they had managed to defeat the Drakh and find the cure to the plague.

He sat down beside his wife, who was sleeping. Tears welled up in his eyes as he brushed her graying black hair with his fingers. "I love you, honey. I'll be going away for a while, but I'll be back soon. It seems the fates have called upon me again to serve humanity again, and I don't know if I'll be back anytime soon. So long for now!" He kissed her on the forehead and walked out of the room.

Later that evening, he attended the state dinner with the new Centauri emperor. Vir Cotto looked much different than he had when he had just been an ambassadorial aide to Londo Mollari back when they were both on Babylon 5. Hollifield remembered Emperor Turhan and how dignified the old man had been while wearing the all white robe of office, which Hollifield's old friend, Michael Garibaldi, had called the "ice cream suit", as well as how haunted Emperor Mollari had looked when he had visited him just a few months after the Centauri broke away from the Interstellar Alliance.

Protocols had to be followed during the dinner. He just couldn't go up to Lady Morella, the third wife of the deceased Emperor Turhan, and ask her for a private meeting. He had to send a note to the noted prophetess and seer, and had to wait for a note to come back from her. He hated to have to deal with the same old Earthgov officials as well as Earthforce high-ranking officers he usually saw.

Well, except one, of course. General Susan Ivanova was there, but she wouldn't be for long. Hollifield looked at his old friend Ganya's sister and wondered what his Russian buddy would think of his sister rising to such an exalted rank. Before he left for his tour of duty during the Earth-Minbari War, Ganya Ivanov had asked his friend that, if he didn't come back, to watch over his sister. For the most part, he had done right by his friend, but General Ivanova was her own woman, and no one was her master. Not even John Sheridan, her commanding officer back when both were on the command staff of Babylon 5.

Ivanova soon left just after it was socially appropriate, and not a second longer. So did Hollifield, but for much different reasons. Lady Morella had been sent up to the presidential suite discreetly, and she rose to stand when he entered the room.

Hollifield put out a hand and said, "You needn't get up, my lady. I have a favor to ask of you."

Lady Morella, wearing the traditional Centauri garb (which looked a lot like the stuff worn back in English Restoration times, he remembered his English Lit teacher in high school saying) and sporting the traditional bald head of a noblewoman, rose anyway, which was obviously discomforting as she was a very old woman indeed. However, she was also a proud woman, and age be damned if she wanted to follow proper protocol. "What do you need from me, Mr. President?"

"I need you to see for me, my lady. I had a vision earlier today, and I need to know if it is what is to come, or if it is an event that has already taken place."

Morella looked troubled and said, "The last person who asked me to see for them was Londo Mollari, and we all saw what happened there. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Hollifield nodded and replied, "I wouldn't ask it of you if I didn't. I know you haven't much longer to live, and I wish to avoid putting you under any strain…"

Morella was the one who held out a hand to stop this time. "Garrison, I may be an old woman, but I am a proud woman. A Centauri woman. I lived through the Shadow War and the occupation of the Drakh, and I managed to survive them all. Turhan always knew you were destined for great things, all the way back when you were simply a captain of the presidential guard for Elizabeth Levy before the Minbari War.

"I shall see for you not because of your office, but for who you are. You were a friend of my husband, a friend of the Centauri people, and a friend of mine. It would be my honor to see for you!"

Hollifield nodded and they did the reading. When they were through, Morella went back to her quarters. The next morning, the news came: she had died.

Emperor Vir Cotto needed to know what had happened, and so President Hollifield told him. Cotto sat down in a seat in Hollifield's office, dubbed by some in the media as the "Not-so-Oval Office" after the American White House and the office that its president still made decisions from, and looked stunned. "Who are these _Cylons_ anyway?"

Hollifield looked at his friend and said, "I wish I knew, Vir. From what she told me, we'll find out soon enough. The question is: what will happen when we _do _find them?"


	2. Blackbird, Meet Whitestar

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Two:**

**Blackbird, Meet Whitestar**

Kara "Starbuck" Thrace jumped into the sector of space expecting to see the Cylon fleet that she had been briefed about, and she spotted it sure enough. Two massive Cylon basestars, several other support ships, and the unknown mothership that dwarfed the basestars were within her sight, and she activated the camera as she went in for an up close look at the fleet.

Her nerve held, as did the stealth capabilities of the improvised fighter she flew in, nicknamed the Blackbird. It had been the pet project of deck chief Galen Tyrol and his crew, and the carbon composite idea that her fellow pilot and friend, Karl "Helo" Agathon, had come up with for the skin of the ship that made for its relative invisibility.

She laughed as she turned away from the fleet and flew away, wanting to jump at a point where they would not detect her. She was about to hit the faster-than-light drive when a massive vortex opened up in front of her and a weird looking ship came speeding towards her. Starbuck had no chance to move out of the way, and she said a quick prayer to the gods Aphrodite and Artemis as she closed her eyes and expected to die from the collision.

Anla'shok Denise Sanchez jumped back into normal space and saw the unusual looking ship right in her path. "Holy mother of God!" she cried out as she hit the panel to move her Whitestar II class ship out of the way, but not fast enough to avoid contact with the ship. The thud wasn't that loud, but she heard it, and she quickly asked the computer to scan the ship for life signs.

The computer replied, "Confirmed. One life sign. Human."

Sanchez ordered the computer to lock tractor beams to bring the damaged ship on board to check on the pilot. She wasn't that familiar with the ship, but wouldn't have been surprised if this was one of Earthforce's "black" projects, which they were almost notorious for, despite the best efforts of the Earth Alliance president. She made her way down to the launch bay to check on the pilot, which didn't take long as this newer Whitestar was meant to be operated by a single person and was much smaller than the original.

Starbuck woke up to a rampaging headache. She checked her instruments, only to find that she was no longer in space. Wherever she was, it wasn't anything Colonial. She slid the canopy of her fighter forward so she could get out, which made her headache even worse, and started to get out of the ship. Slowly, in order to protect her bum knee, she dropped to the floor and thanked the gods that she landed solidly and firmly.

A voice called out to her, "Hello?" and Starbuck spun around, pistol in hand at the voice, only to find a short, dark-haired human dressed in some sort of flowing brown robe. The woman quickly went into her robe and took out a device of some kind, which, to Starbuck's shock, expanded in a blink of an eye.

"Who are you?" Starbuck asked the woman.

"My name is Denise Sanchez, and I am a Ranger."

Starbuck looked puzzled. "Excuse me?"

"Ranger? Anla'shok? You've never heard of them?"

Starbuck's aim of her pistol never wavered despite the fear building inside her. She thought for sure that she had encountered a new kind of humanoid-Cylon, but what was the deal with that pole? "Can't say that I have? Now, you'll tell me why I am aboard this fracking ship, or else I shoot you!"

Sanchez also never wavered, and, Starbuck saw in her face absolutely no fear in her eyes. She looked to be in her mid-forties and in the peak of fitness, and Starbuck wondered if she could take her in a fight. Much to her amazement, she didn't think she could beat this person at any hand-to-hand combat.

"You're not Earthforce?" asked Sanchez, and Starbuck's breath caught in her chest.

"Err…err…Earthforce? You mean Earth?" she said, in stunned disbelief. She stepped back and bumped into the Blackbird without even noticing, not quite comprehending what she was hearing.

Sanchez said, "Yes, Earth. Where are you from?"

Before she could say anything else, the room span around for Starbuck and she fainted. She never hit the deck, as Sanchez was quick enough to catch her before she fell. Sanchez shouldered the unknown woman and took her to the modest infirmary aboard ship so that the computer could monitor her vital signs as she returned to the _Independence_.

Starbuck awakened and blinked against the bright lights that were shining in her face. She was in a medical facility of some kind, and her bed was surrounded by some kind of white curtain. The bustle of activity indicated that there were others inside the room, which scared her even more. The last time she had been in a hospital bed, she had been shot by a Cylon Centurion and dragged to a hospital, or so she had thought. It had turned out to be a Cylon "farm", where they held childbearing capable women in order to breed Cylon-human hybrids.

The white curtain slid back and an older, dark-skinned male walked through the curtain with a smile on his face. This one looked a lot different from the one she had encountered on Caprica: shorter, with a flat top that was going gray, wearing a uniform distinctly different from that of the Colonial fleet. Her breath still caught in her throat in terror of memories of her recent experience on the planet, and it clearly alarmed the man.

He put a hand out and said, "You're safe here. No need to worry. What's your name?"

She still was shaking from nervousness, but managed to get out, "Kara Thrace".

"I'm Doctor Stephen Franklin. Do you know where you are?"

Starbuck looked around and said, "I'm in a hospital of some sort. How long have I been out?"

"Only a couple of hours. A Ranger brought you in, saying that she had a collision with your ship. So why were you out there at the edge of Earth Alliance territory?"

Starbuck looked at him puzzled and asked, "Earth _Alliance_?"

Franklin said, "Yeah, the Earth Alliance. You never heard of Earth?"

"We only knew it as a myth, in the Sacred Scrolls. We've been trying to find it ever since the Holocaust…"

The doctor held out a hand and said, "Wait, wait, wait! Holocaust? What holocaust?"

"You don't know of the Cylon attacks on the twelve Colonial worlds?"

Franklin whispered to himself, "Cylons?", then walked over to someone and ordered, "Get the President down here. He needs to talk to this woman."

_He?_, she asked in her mind. Laura Roslin was back on the _Galactica_, for all she knew, and she was unmistakably female. Starbuck knew she was dying of terminal breast cancer, but hadn't expected her to die so soon.

Then it hit her…she was on a supposed Earth vessel, so he must have meant the president of this Earth Alliance they kept talking about. She lay back on the bed, her mind running at hyper speed as she tried to figure out what was going on.

President Garrison Hollifield walked into the medlab aboard the _Independence_ with Interstellar Alliance president John Sheridan and their mutual friend, Michael Garibaldi. Doctor Franklin met them shortly inside the door, and he began to brief them on their patient.

"I ran her name and her image through the computer. There's no Kara Thrace in Earthforce, as far as I know. Funny thing is, when I mentioned Earth, she said it was a myth…"

Sheridan asked, "Myth? So she doesn't even know Earth exists? How is that possible?"

"I don't know, but she mentioned Cylons and I know that was the name you heard in your vision, Garrison, so I figured that you should come down and meet her. Maybe you can get something out of her that I can't."

Hollifield snorted and said, "Stephen, that's an understatement with the way I am." He turned to Garibaldi and Sheridan and said, "Maybe you should watch this from the monitors. We don't want to overwhelm her with all of this, if she is telling the truth."

Garibaldi looked suspicious, and said, "And if she's not?"

Garrison replied, "Then I'll find out what she's really up to then. I am a telepath, after all."

Garibaldi nodded and he followed Sheridan of them went over to the office inside the medlab with Franklin. Hollifield walked over to the encircled bed and he could feel the fear and nervousness coming from the young woman in his mind. He slowly opened up the curtain, hoping as not to scare her even more. It was then that he noticed that she was the one from his vision.

"I know you! You're the woman from the vision!" said Hollifield before he could think.

Starbuck looked at him and said, "How do you know me?"

"You were in a field, with three others. An older man with black hair and dark skin. A young white male who favored the older man. And a reddish brown haired older woman. You were looking up at the stars in the sky. Twelve of them. The signs of the Zodiac."

Starbuck's jaw hung open, but she managed to rally enough to ask, "How do you know all of this?"

"So the events in my vision happened? Tell me why you were there."

"We were on Kobol," Starbuck said, not bothering to realize that Hollifield had no idea what or where Kobol was. "We had just entered the Tomb of Athena with the Arrow of Apollo to find out where Earth was. When I placed the arrow in the hands of the statue of the archer, that was when a light flashed and next thing we knew, we were in a field, looking up at a star field."

Hollifield shook his head and walked away for a moment, deep in thought. He looked back at her and said, "I don't understand any of what you just said. The only Athena and Apollo I know of were Greek gods in our ancient times. Heck, I know Apollo from the old American space program of three centuries ago, and my wife commanded the _Athena_ before she took command of the _Liberty_ shortly before the Drakh plague."

Starbuck, for some unknown reason, began to laugh. She stopped long enough to say, "Do you know how ridiculous all of this sounds? Besides, if you are from Earth, then why are you speaking in a Colonial tongue?"

"English, you mean?"

Starbuck shrugged her shoulders and said, "If that's what you call it."

From the monitors inside the office, Franklin, Garibaldi, and Sheridan followed the conversation between Hollifield and Thrace. Hollifield managed to find out about the colonies she kept talking about. "Twelve colonies: Caprica, Gemenon, Canceron, Picon, Sagitteron, Leonis, Libron, Aquaria, Virgon, Aerelon, Tauron, Scorpion. Notice anything familiar?" asked Sheridan.

"The signs of the Zodiac." Garibaldi said. "How could she know that and not be from Earth?"

"I don't know, but she seems like she's telling the truth, from what I've seen. Granted, I'm no telepath like the president is, but it seemed that way to me." Franklin added.

"As much as this is going to shock everyone in this room, I agree with you, Doc. I think she is telling the truth." Garibaldi said. "Call it a gut feeling, but I don't think she's lying, and I don't think she's had this story implanted in her mind by a telepath."

"Well, that's a first. So do you think we should go find this _Galactica _and _Pegasus_ she talked about?" Sheridan asked.

"Don't you think so? I mean, if she and her people are from somewhere else in the galaxy, then that opens up a whole can of worms that we never knew existed." Garibaldi replied.

Sheridan looked back at the monitor and said, "Considering where we picked her up, we need to check it out. We all know that no one besides Lyta Alexander and President Hollifield have ever been in Vorlon territory, much less the Vorlon homeworld, and never returned. So then why do we find this woman in her ship so close to the border with the old Vorlon Empire? I lay you odds that these _Lords of Kobol_ and the Vorlons have something very much in common.

"Why the similarities in language? Why the fact that their gods are so similar to Greek gods? Their worlds named after constellations from _our_ world? And the fact that they are humans themselves? I think we should delay the trip to Earth and check this out."

"Wonder what Delenn will think of this?" asked Sheridan.

"I don't know. At this time, it's best to keep this Kara Thrace away from her for now, as well as Emperor Cotto, because we have enough to talk about without going into other sentient species. Besides, if we can convince her to take us to that fleet she talked about, we can find out more about these Colonials she talked about."

The next day, Starbuck was taken to quarters inside the ship and allowed to shower and freshen up. President Hollifield personally attended to her, which amused her until she realized that there was a reason for it: the others on board didn't know that she wasn't from Earth. She put her uniform back on and walked with the president to the conference room aboard the _Independence_, and she noticed two other men in business suits and a woman in a similar uniform as that of the doctor were seated at the table. Sanchez was also there, clad in what she had learned was the uniform of the Anla'shok, or the Rangers. Why that uniform was so different from the others puzzled her, but, then again, all of this was a conundrum to her.

"Ms. Thrace, this is Interstellar Alliance President John Sheridan. We'll explain the whole Interstellar Alliance thing later on. Think of it for now as similar to the Colonial government that you are used to, and Earth as the…Caprica?…that you are familiar with. This is Michael Garibaldi, who is a liaison, if you will, between President Sheridan and myself. And this is Captain Sibohan Brennan, who commands the ship you are on at present."

Starbuck nodded her head to all of them and sat down, still somewhat stunned at all that was going on. She wondered what Lee "Apollo" Adama and the expedition to the Cylon fleet were up to, as well as what was going on with Commander Adama aboard the _Galactica_. She was still miffed at the transfer to the _Pegasus_ and the attitude of her crew, especially that of the battlestar's commanding officer, Admiral Nelena Cain. In a strange way, she wondered what that bitch of an admiral would think of her bringing back a highly advanced warship from Earth.

However, before the meeting could even begin, a signal came in for Captain Brennan from what passed for the Combat Information Center here on the _Independence_, something they bizarrely called a "bridge".

"What is it, Commander Akhbar?" asked Brennan, and that puzzled Starbuck even further. _How can a mere captain talk to a commander like that?_ Starbuck thought, but then she realized that the ranking system was probably somewhat different here.

Akhbar said, "Sir, the fleet we've been monitoring…the Cylon fleet…had disappeared from view. We think they've jumped somewhere, but we don't know where. We picked up some fighters and another transport of some kind, but they jumped as well."

Starbuck's breath caught in her throat as a frightening thought came to her mind. "My Gods!" she cried out without regard to the others in the room.

"Something, Ms. Thrace?" asked Brennan inquisitively.

"I think that fleet is going to attack the _Galactica _and the _Pegasus_. We need to get there and stop them." Starbuck was surprised at how she sounded so desperate to herself.

Sheridan and Hollifield looked at each other for a moment, as if they were trading thoughts, then Hollifield turned to Brennan and ordered, "Slap an Earthforce transponder to that Blackbird ship. Give her an Earthforce communications link so she can contact us as to what's going on when she gets back there. If they are indeed attacking, we'll bring in our task force into the fight."

Brennan nodded and left the room to carry out the orders. Hollifield turned to Starbuck and said, "I know that you probably don't trust us that much, and that this is overwhelming to you. Believe me, this is a bit too much to believe for us as well. But if you take us back to them, we'll help you defend your fleet. If what you say is true, then we have an obligation to protect those precious thousands that remain from your Colonies."

Later, Starbuck boarded the Blackbird and piloted it out of the immense landing bay of the _Independence_. "Ready to jump, _Independence_. Transponder is working."

Akhbar's voice came through clear in the earpiece inside her ear. "Confirmed, Blackbird. We read you. Proceed with jump."

Starbuck activated the FTL drive inside the Blackbird and jumped back to the last known coordinates of the Colonial fleet. When she arrived, she saw something that stunned her more than she already had been.

Brennan asked her executive officer, "Are we picking up her signal?"

"Confirmed, sir! We have her coordinates for her location. Jump engines ready at your command!"

"Patch me through to her." Brennan said, and, a moment later, she could hear the breathing of Starbuck in her ear. "Thrace, what's going on?"

"_Independence_, you need to get here soon! The _Pegasus _and the _Galactica _are about to launch an attack on each other! Please hurry!"

Brennan looked at Presidents Hollifield and Sheridan, and it was Hollifield who said, "Jump to those coordinates. Prepare Thunderbolts for launch!"


	3. Don't Frak With Ivanova!

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Three:**

**Don't Frak With Ivanova!**

When Commander Bill Adama dreamed of the first encounter with those from the lost thirteenth colony of Earth, he had a surprisingly idealistic vision of how it would go. When the president of the Earth Alliance's shuttle landed in the starboard flight bay of the Colonial Battlestar _Pegasus_, he knew it was going to be far different from what he had hoped the event would be.

He had sent two Vipers and a Raptor to bring back his men, Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol and Electronic Countermeasures Officer Karl "Helo" Agathon, who had been sentenced to execution for the death of Lieutenant Thorne, a Cylon interrogator who had allegedly attempted to rape the Cylon prisoner known as Sharon Valerii. He had failed when Tyrol and Helo had stormed the cell and thrown Thorne off of her, only to have his head slam into the side of the cell by accident and snap his neck, killing him instantly.

Just before the battlestars' Vipers exchanged fire, the EAS _Independence_ jumped in and sent out a broadband transmission over the Colonial communication channels that Kara "Starbuck" Thrace had given the crew of the Earth Alliance vessel. It was EA President Garrison Hollifield who had made the contact:

_This is Garrison Hollifield of the Earth Alliance to Colonial Battlestars _Galactica _and_ Pegasus_. You are engaging in unauthorized military activities in Earth Alliance territory, and you are hereby ordered to cease and desist activities immediately. If you fail to do so, we shall open fire to disarm and disable your fighters and your ships. You have one Earth minute to respond._

At that moment, the Warlock-class destroyers _Titans _and _Paladin_ jumped into normal space as well, along with several Whitestars. The Minbari and Centauri vessels stayed behind at Hollifield's request in hyperspace. They were along for the trip back to Earth for the first state visit of new Interstellar Alliance president Delenn. Vir Cotto had wanted to come along after the inauguration to Earth to make a more "unofficial" visit for reasons of his own, and, being the Centauri Emperor, his forces could only obey his command.

Adama's Mark II Vipers and Raptors pulled back and returned to _Galactica_, but Admiral Nelena Cain's Mark VII Vipers' turned towards the oncoming Starfury Thunderbolts and prepared to fire. On board the _Pegasus_, Cain was starting to come unglued, and Colonel Jack Fisk had to act fast to convince her to stand down. After a tense moment, Cain realized she had no choice and stood down, but not before one of her Vipers opened up on one of the Thunderbolts, damaging it but not harming the pilot.

An enraged President Hollifield demanded to speak to the commanding officer of the _Pegasus_ as well as Commander Adama and the command staff from the _Galactica _immediately aboard Cain's ship, and took to an atmospheric shuttle to travel over there. Accompanying him were the now-former ISA president John Sheridan, Michael Garibaldi, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Susan Ivanova, Doctor Stephen Franklin, as well as Kara "Starbuck" Thrace.

Ivanova's fists were clenched with rage at what Cain's pilots had done. "I want answers, dammit, and she'd better give them, or else…" Ivanova pounded a fist on her thigh and let out a furious breath.

Starbuck made an observation, "General, I think you'll find Admiral Cain to be a real bitch."

Sheridan snorted and said, "Wait until she meets Ivanova, then we'll see who the biggest bitch is!"

Ivanova looked at her former commanding officer and glared at him, replying, "Damn straight we will!"

Colonel Saul Tigh stood between his CO, Commander Adama, and Colonial President Laura Roslin, and barely could contain his giddiness at seeing Admiral Cain being brought down a peg by those people from Earth. He whispered into Adama's ear without turning his head, "She's really screwed her pooch now. Wonder what they'll say to her?"

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it isn't going to be pretty." Adama replied, then he turned to watch the gangway lower itself down from the EA shuttle. Gasps and whispers filled the massive hanger deck, but Adama remained calm. Cain may have blundered, but he felt that he, along with Roslin, could salvage the situation.

The first off the shuttle were what looked to be presidential bodyguards, and Adama squinted his eyes and focused hard when he saw what they were wearing. It looked to be very similar to the usual civilian business suits, except the lapels were different and there were no neckties.

The next person off was a broad shouldered man of his own age, with black hair and clad in a sharp looking navy blue suit similar to the black ones the bodyguards wore. The next two were a taller man with gray hair and beard, walking beside a shorter balding man, who looked around like he was trying to take everything in. Following them, to Adama's surprise, was Starbuck, who was alongside a slightly taller woman who looked to be in her fifties and had the hardest, coldest look he ever saw on an officer.

Hollifield, Sheridan, Garibaldi, and Starbuck came to a stop roughly ten meters beyond the gangway, but Ivanova strode past them and yelled out, "ADMIRAL CAIN!" so loud that it made even him shudder with its sheer anger.

Cain stepped forward and identified herself, asking sarcastically, "And who might you be? I don't…"

Ivanova stepped right in front of her and met her almost nose-to-nose, yelling right in her face. "What the hell is wrong with you? One of your fighters fired on one of mine, and I should have damn well splashed that son of a bitch! You'd better explain yourself!"

Cain was defiant. "Who the hell are you? I don't appreciate being yelled at on my own ship…"

Ivanova cut her off again. "General Susan Ivanova. Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for Earthforce. Otherwise known as the Head Bitch In Charge. Now you'd better explain yourself, or I'll have three regiments of Earthforce Marines come on board this ship and start cutting it up for scrap metal."

Starbuck whispered to Garibaldi, "Is she always like this when she's pissed?"

Garibaldi quipped, "Not all the time. You should see her when she's _really_ pissed!"

Starbuck smiled and said, "I like her style!" and hit the smile as she watched Ivanova face off with Cain.

Adama's first instinct told him to step up and defend his superior officer, but this was one of those times when he ignored it. _Cain got herself into this mess,_ he thought, _now let her get herself out._

Cain avoided the heated gaze of Ivanova, who was locked in on her face. "I thought you were the Cylons for a moment there. I…I didn't know what else to do."

Ivanova wasn't going to let her off that easy. "Well, here's a new bulletin for you: we're not fragging Cylons! Why didn't you wait to get a positive identification of our ships?"

Cain began to shake, as if she was about to explode. No one moved to stop her or Ivanova, because they clearly didn't know what would happen if they did. Adama and Tigh didn't because they knew that they were probably next, and Roslin didn't because she was afraid that the Earth woman would snap off her head, which was something considering that the Colonial president only had one month to live.

Suddenly, Cain pulled out her gun and pointed it right in the face of Ivanova, who didn't flinch. "Walk away! Damn you, get off my ship!" Cain yelled.

Sheridan said, "Uh oh!" softly, and Garibaldi went to reach for his phased plazer gun that he hid inside his jacket, only to be stopped by Hollifield. "Let me handle this Michael!" said the Earth Alliance president, who focused his gaze upon the admiral.

Starbuck didn't know what was going on, and asked the president, "What are you doing, sir?"

"Making sure she doesn't pull that trigger." Hollifield said as he squinted his eyes and focused.

Cain was shaking, and her finger was vibrating on the trigger. Tears came to her eyes, and, to the shock of everyone there, she collapsed onto the deck, dropping the pistol beside her and breaking down. "I can't take it anymore! I can't!" Cain cried out.

Ivanova went from being a royal bitch to being a sympathetic figure in almost an instant. Others tried to huddle around her, but she shooed them off, saying, "Give her air!" To Cain, she said, "Whatever it is, it'll be ok!" as she hugged the admiral and gently helped her up to her feet.

Doctor Ishmael Astor examined the admiral thoroughly for the first time since the attacks on the Twelve Colonies and saw what no one on the _Pegasus_ could see before then: Cain was suffering from a severe case of post-traumatic stress syndrome. "She needs rest. Time to recover. We ALL need time to recover. The stress levels of the crew are off the charts!"

Adama, Roslin, and Tigh stood in the infirmary with Sheridan, Garibaldi, Ivanova, and Starbuck, along with Doctor Cottle from the _Galactica_ and Colonel Fisk. Cain had been sedated and was lying in bed with an IV running to her right arm.

Doctor Cottle concurred, saying, "If we could just find a safe harbor…"

Tigh snorted, "Where the hell are we going to find a place like that?"

Sheridan thought about it for moment and said, "I know just the place."

About an hour later, they were assembled aboard the _Independence_ for a meeting. "So what is this place? You said the name was…Babylon 9?" asked Roslin.

Sheridan corrected her, "Babylon 5, not 9. I used to command the station years ago. It would be the perfect place to harbor your ships, providing that President Hollifield agrees."

"I think we could do it. I'd have to talk to Admiral David Rissen about this. He commands the station now, and he's an old friend of mine, so he should be up for something like this. Getting supplies there shouldn't be a problem, and there's plenty of room for the surviving humans on board." Hollifield said.

"Yeah, considering you've been fighting to keep it open for years. Ever since the Interstellar Alliance was formed and based on the Minbari homeworld, the station's become redundant. Good thing you did, because we can use it right now." Garibaldi added.

Adama looked at Garibaldi and asked, "Minbari homeworld? I thought you said you were from Earth?"

Hollifield answered, "We are. Well, Garibaldi's from Mars, but Mars is..well, nevermind. I take it that you've never had first contact with an extraterrestrial species before?"

Adama replied, "You're it!"

Sheridan said, "Well then, you're in for a surprise. Because there's more than one race in this universe than humans."

Adama looked at Roslin and Tigh, who both had perplexed expressions on their faces, then he said, "When can we meet one?"

"As a matter of fact, you can meet two of them." Sheridan said, and he pressed a button on the panel on the table, activating a communications link. "Sheridan to bridge. Please ask Delenn and Emperor Vir Cotto to join us."

Several minutes later, they all stood up around the table as the doors opened. To Adama's surprise, his heart was thudding in his chest. He hadn't felt like this since he met Caroline Adama, his former wife, for the first time. Tigh was just as nervous as well, and Adama could tell that Roslin had butterflies in her stomach too.

Through the doors walked a woman with long hair, black with some gray in it. She would have looked human, except for the bone crest sticking out if her head like a reversed tiara. The other man was clad in all white, and his hair stood uplifted like a crown. Delenn bowed before the Colonials, fingers together and steepled in the traditional Minbari greeting, saying, "On behalf of the Interstellar Alliance, I welcome you."

Before Emperor Vir Cotto could introduce himself, Tigh couldn't help but say, "I'll be damned!"


	4. You Say RADAR, I Say DRADIS

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Four**

**You Say RADAR, I Say DRADIS**

Things began to settle down for a brief time on all the ships in Sector 359. Admiral Nelena Cain resigned as head of Colonial military forces and ceded authority to newly promoted, per act of President Laura Roslin and the Quorum of Twelve, Admiral William Adama, who keeps _Galactica_ as his flagship and gets Colonel Saul Tigh promoted to the rank of Commander.

Meanwhile, over fleet wireless, _Pegasus' _CAG, Cole "Stinger" Taylor, learns that all transfers enacted by Cain have been rescinded, and that Kara "Starbuck" Thrace and Lee "Apollo" Adama would be brought back to _Galactica_. Stinger sighed as he clicked off the wireless after receiving the transmission.

With a sigh, he turned to Apollo and said, "Sorry if I was being an ass to you. With things the way they are…"

"Forget it. We're all under stress and strain these days, so I've learned to forgive a lot of what I would have taken personally before. So what do you think will happen to Admiral Cain?"

Stinger looked ahead and contemplated for a moment, then said, "I think she'll retake command of the _Pegasus_. She's a tough woman, but even the strongest person can only stand so much. She lost her only daughter in the attacks, you know?"

Apollo was gobsmacked. "I didn't know that."

"She was very close to Sheba. Well, her full name was Shelly Barbara Cain, but her family called her Sheba for short, because a popular children's book character had the same name when she was growing up. The admiral told me this once before the attacks, when we were in a bar together. Sheba had a hard life, having to deal with her parent's divorce and its aftermath, getting beat up so badly in school by a couple of bullies that she had to have surgery to deal with the pressure on her brain…but the kid persevered through it all.

"She was in her early 20s and was about to get married to a writer, Norman Abel. The admiral was so proud that she invited us all to the wedding, and you could tell she was immensely proud of her daughter. It was to have taken place in about another couple of weeks from now.

"Then the attacks came. Cain was all right as we jumped blind to another location, but once it hit her that her daughter was dead, you could tell that something snapped inside her. She became hard, cold, withdrawn."

"What about this I hear about him shooting the _Pegasus_' CO?" Apollo asked.

"We should have done something then. Fisk ordered the attack, and we were lucky that we didn't lose anymore than we did. We talked about her mental health, but so many of the others were so gung-ho about going after Cylons…they didn't see what was happening to her. Honestly, I think she just wanted to go out in a blaze of glory."

Apollo grunted and smiled, saying, "You're not as much of a hardass after all, Stinger."

Stinger laughed and replied, "Well, you're not under my command anymore. You're my equal now, so I gotta kiss your ass, or else you'll kick it whenever we go after those Cylon raiders."

As they arrived aboard _Pegasus_, John J. Sheridan, now the head of the Rangers, and Michael Garibaldi, joined Earth Alliance president Garrison Hollifield in the _Galactica_ mess, meeting members of the ships' crew as they toured the ship with Petty Officer, Second Class, Anastasia "Dee" Dualla, and Billy Keikeya, who was an assistant to President Roslin. Hollifield was with General Susan Ivanova and Starbuck, who was serving as their escort.

"Well, the grub's not the same as Earthforce standard, but it's about the same: crappy!" Ivanova said aloud, and the entire room exploded. The cook gave her a rueful look, but also chuckled as well.

"Damn good thing we speak the same language, or close to it. How the hell is that? I know the Sacred Scrolls mentioned Earth, but I never imagined we all spoke the same language!" Starbuck said.

"I don't know. There has to be something to it. I don't believe in coincidences: never have, never will. Maybe these Lords of Kobol you speak about have something to do with it?" Sheridan mused.

Hollifield added, "Well, you guys haven't had exposure to aliens like we have, so you don't know about all the different races we've had to deal with. From what I've learned in the short time I've been here, it seems like you guys just stuck in your own little corner of the galaxy. No wonder we didn't find you."

Dualla spoke up and said, "When I heard your message for the first time, I thought I had finally gone mad. Earth? I thought! It's not possible! But then your repeated that message and scared the crap out of me!" Those at the table erupted with laughter again.

Deckhand Specialist Clarissa Cally came in just then all excited and pulled up a chair and said, "Have you heard the news? Helo and Tyrol are being released!"

"That's good, if we knew who those guys were. We just came in from Earth, and we hadn't had the chance to catch the local news!" Garibaldi joked, which provoked Cally to stick out her tongue at him, but no more than that.

Dualla filled them in. "The _Pegasus_ sent over an interrogator for the Cylons, one of the Humanoid Cylons…"

"Humanoid? You mean there's a difference?" Hollifield asked.

"It's difficult to explain, but we've found that the mechanical Cylons have found a way to make human forms of themselves. We haven't had any idea how they were able to do it. All we know is that they exist."

Garibaldi, Sheridan, Ivanova and Hollifield all had the same look on their faces: as if they'd seen a ghost. Hollifield was the one who rallied, asking, "So what happened with the interrogator, Ms…?"

"Cally, sir!" she said, and she extended a hand, which he shook. "The guy's name was Thorne, and he was trying to rape Sharon Valerii…that's the Cylon, by the way…and when Helo and Chief Tyrol found out about it, they ran in there and threw the guy off her, and he rammed his head into the side of the jail. Granted, I don't have any love for her, since I shot the other copy of her…"

Garibaldi interrupted. "Whoa, whoa! Wait a second! Copies?"

Starbuck answered, "It's a long story."

Later on, the Earthers made their way to the Command Information Center. Sheridan and Garibaldi looked around and scratched their heads. Garibaldi picked up one of the phones attacked to a base, saying, "I haven't seen something like that except in a museum."

Commander Tigh, who was standing by him when he made the remark, said, "Because the Cylons had the tactic of hacking into our computer networks, we had to de-evolve our technology to combat the practice. Forty years later, when they attacked us again, they used a computer virus that somehow got through a backdoor of the Command Navigation Program, which was in pretty much all the other Colonial military vessels. The only reason they didn't get us is that the Commander insisted in keeping the ship from having a central computer.

"_Galactica_ was supposed to be decommissioned and turned into a museum, but with it the only known battlestar left, we had to prepare the ship to defend the fleet as we fled the system. That was until _Pegasus_, and then you guys, showed up."

Admiral Adama joined them, along with Roslin, Starbuck, and Apollo. "Normally we would do this with a full military ceremony, but with the Cylon fleet nearby, we can't afford to waste much time. So I've asked the president to do the honors here." Adama said, and Roslin produced her copy of the Sacred Scrolls and the conducted the ceremony to make the promotion of Adama complete.

When it was over, everyone in the room applauded, and Adama escorted the guests to the briefing room for a planned meeting. While making their way there, Hollifield spoke with Adama. "I was informed that there are human-form Cylons by one of your enlisted personnel. Would it be possible for me to interview the one you have on board, to see if its possible that Cylons may have made it to Earth?"

Adama thought for a moment, then said, "I think it could be arranged. _Pegasus _has one as well, and I'll speak with Acting Commander Fisk to make arrangements for you to interview her as well. The Vice-President, Doctor Gaius Baltar, is interviewing her at present, so it may be some time."

Sharon "Boomer" Valerii jumped when the door to her cell opened and an old man walked in. "Don't hurt me! Please!" she cried as she crawled over the bed to get away from the man.

Hollifield knew about the rape, so he slowly sat down at the table. "I mean you no harm."

"Then why did you send the guards away?"

"So we can talk privately. You know who I am?"

Boomer nodded and added, "But how can this be? I didn't think Earth existed!"

"It does exist. It's come close to _not_ existing one too many times in my life, but we managed to survive…after a fashion."

Boomer was scared, and even though she was supposedly a Cylon, she gave off the same thought waves as any human could. Hollifield scanned her lightly, and couldn't tell the difference between her and any other humans. Part of him was impressed with the Cylon's ability to create such organic technology, and another part of him wondered _who_ taught them how to do it. That was the reason why he was here.

Boomer slowly got up and walked over to the table and sat down, keeping her eyes on Hollifield the whole time. She slid into the seat, brushing a tear from her eye.

"I'm sorry to hear what happened. If it means anything to you, I would have killed that son of a bitch myself."

"What happened to Helo and Chief Tyrol?" Boomer asked.

"Roslin pardoned them. They should be back on board soon. I've been told by Admiral Adama that both are all right, given circumstances"

Boomer asked, "_Admiral_ Adama? What happened to Cain?"

"She resigned under pressure. That's all I'll say for now. Look, I'm gonna be blunt here: I don't know you Cylons, so I can't decide if you're good, bad, or indifferent. The Colonials consider you an enemy, but we don't. However, since there are human Cylons, I am worried that there could be some on Earth, as well as in our colonies. Do you know anything about that?"

Boomer thought hard for a moment, then said, "No, I don't recall any." She hurriedly added, "But I don't know for sure. I may not be able to access that data."

Hollifield scanned her and found that she told the truth. "So why did your kind try to wipe out the Colonials?"

"God commanded it."

Hollifield blinked. "God? No pantheon like the Colonials?"

"No. Just the one God."

Hollifield nodded, then said, "Would it shock you that most of Earth's religions are much like your own, in that they only have one God?"

Boomer asked, "You mean you don't believe in the same gods as the others do?"

Instead of asking her, he looked over and said, "What do you think, Alwyn?"

A figure appeared from the shadows outside of the cell and said, "Well, she's not made of Shadow tech. My scans can't find any of it."

Boomer sprung up and yelled, "I thought you said we be alone!"

Hollifield sat there and said, "I didn't need the guards in here for what I have to ask you. Starbuck's been appointed liaison to the Earth Alliance forces, and we have an idea. It's a long shot, and it may not work, but if it does, it could end this war once and for all, and still allow both the Colonials and the Cylons to exist."

Boomer picked up the chair and slammed it down, screaming, "You didn't answer my question! Who the frak is that outside this cell?"

Hollifield wasn't worried about the others hearing outside, as the technomage Alwyn had constructed a soundproof force field around the room upon entry. Alwyn was the one who answered. "The name's Alwyn. I am a technomage, and a long time friend of the president. I'm here to find out who or what made you. The Cylons may have been more advance than the Colonials, but they aren't advanced enough to create something like you. We have two suspects, and we've just ruled out one."

"So who's the other?" Boomer asked as she turned back to Hollifield.

Hollifield sighed and said, "A race known as the Vorlons. The reason I'm interested? It's because they're responsible for telepaths like me."

Boomer blinked, not believing what she heard. "Telepaths? Those are stuff I read in those science fiction novels as a child! How's that possible?"

Hollifield entered her mind and Boomer flinched as he found a memory of her playing pyramid with Starbuck on leave on Caprica with some friends, then left her mind just as quickly as he entered. She rubbed her head subconsciously, but she didn't have a headache. "How did you do that?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I just know that I can. You can thank the Vorlons for that, but since they've left the galaxy, you'll just have to send them a post card."

Boomer looked down, trying to take in all that she was learning. She didn't know what to think, but something inside her told her that she could trust Hollifield. She looked at him and asked, "So what's the plan?"

"We go back to Caprica."

Admiral Adama and Starbuck were together in his office, and they had just discussed the plan. "Are you sure you want to do this, Kara? I can't, in good conscience, order you to do this. The risks…"

Starbuck said, "I understand, sir. When Hollifield and Ivanova told me of what they had planned, I thought it was nuts. Then they told me _why_ they were planning it, and I thought they were insane."

Adama grunted and added, "But it does seem like these Vorlons may be responsible for the human copies of Cylons. That's a big assumption on my part, and you know how I am about guesses. But we can't let the Cylon fleet get to Earth, so whatever we can do to help end this war with the help of the Interstellar Alliance, we'll do it."

"What about Lee?" Starbuck asked.

"He'll stay here. The Earthforce is assigning us its Thirteenth Fleet…how appropriate…to protect us. They're helping us get to Babylon 5 so we can help overhaul _Galactica_ and the rest of the fleet. I hear that you've asked Helo to go with you?"

"Yes, sir. And, if I may, I'd like to take along the prisoner."

"Somebody beat you to it. President Hollifield asked me about it earlier, and I agreed. He's assembling a group of Rangers and Earthforce Special Ops that he knows he can trust to assist us. I'm sure they're good at what they do, but sending you back there…"

Starbuck knew that the admiral considered her like a daughter, even after the revelation that she had indirectly been responsible for the death of Zak Adama, his youngest son and Starbuck's fiancé. She knew that if she didn't come back from this mission, it would figuratively, and could literally, kill him. She also knew that this mission was important, as it could not only end the war, but also possibly reclaim the Colonial worlds. "It's important, sir. I've discussed this with General Ivanova and President Hollifield, and it needs to be done."

Adama walked around his desk and over to Starbuck. Their eyes met and nothing was said for a moment as they stared at each other. Then the admiral embraced Starbuck, whispering in her ear as a tear ran down his cheek, "Gods go with you, Kara."

Starbuck also had tears running down her cheeks, realizing this could be the last time she saw her mentor. "Gods go with you, sir!"

On board _Pegasus_, Dr. Gaius Baltar sat down on the floor and leaned back against the wall. His efforts to rouse Gina, the Cylon prisoner, had made some improvements, but she still could not talk or communicate. She could eat and drink, but barely. Most of the time, she lay on the ground and stared at him, listening to him as he talked. He only left to use the bathroom, usually sleeping in the cell with Gina.

He had just been told that the Earth president was coming to see him and the prisoner, and he didn't know what to think. Luckily for him, someone showed up to assist him in his thoughts.

Six appeared to him for the first time in days, but instead of her usual alluring outfits, she wore a rather modest business suit. "Gaius, you should let him see her. Let him see what these…people…did to her." Six said, her words tinged with sadness at what had happened to Gina. Gina had been a dockworker at the Scorpion Ship Yards when the attacks came, and she was rescued by the _Pegasus_, only to betray them to the Cylons, resulting in the deaths of 800 people. Since then, the crew of the _Pegasus_, in revenge for what Gina did, had raped her and tortured her to the point that, when Baltar first encountered her, she was in a catatonic state, clearly dehydrated and malnourished, even by Cylon standards.

Hollifield entered the cell and his mouth hung open when he saw Gina. Baltar introduced himself, but Hollifield shook his hand without averting his eyes from the sight of Gina. "What happened to her?" he asked.

Baltar told him the story, ending, "They raped and tortured her, over and over. Mr. President, I wish for you to protest the actions of this crew. Its simply inhumane what they did to her." Baltar was breaking down, and he could see Six behind the president with tears in her eyes. At Hollifield's request, the guards had left the room, and Baltar took a risk in what he said.

"I'll see that she's transferred to my ship. Sharon Valerii is being transferred there as well, so I'll take it up with Admiral Adama and insist that she be sent over and that those who did this be severely punished." As he turned to leave, he saw Six and absentmindedly said to her, "Excuse me" He went to leave, but stopped short, turning to Six and asking, "How did you get in here?"

Gaius Baltar and Six looked at each other, then back to Hollifield, who looked back to Gina and then back to Six. Six asked him, "Do you see me?"

Hollifield looked puzzled and said, "Yeah, I see you. You're not real, but I see you."

Alwyn appeared outside the cell, "That's correct. She's inside his head, projecting herself out to converse with Baltar."

Baltar spun around and got a view of the technomage, clad in his multicolored robe and grasping his staff. "You can see her too?"

Alwyn, an old man with a wrinkled face and balding gray hair, smiled and said, "Yes, I can see her. Let's just say the President and myself aren't your normal humans and leave it at that."

Six looked at the president and asked, "What do you intend to do with us?"

Hollifield thought for a moment, then asked, "You're a Cylon, but you don't exist in human form anymore? You're inside his mind, right?"

Six replied, "How did you know that?"

"I'm a telepath."

Six stood there for a moment, not realizing if she'd heard right. Baltar walked back to the wall and collapsed on the floor, crying out, "This is too much! My God, this is too much! What next?"

Alwyn bluntly pointed out, "How about the revelation that _you_ were the one responsible for the massacre of billions of people in the colonies? We found the file, and we found that you were the one who tampered with the defense mainframe. We also know that you or your associate had someone tamper with the evidence to make it appear that you weren't involved."

Baltar stood up and started looking around the room. Gina was out of it, Six was standing there shocked, Hollifield was looking at Baltar curiously, and Alwyn's gaze was focused on him. He managed to stamper out, "Ho..how…how did you find out?"

"I'm a technomage. We're good at finding out things." Alwyn said proudly.

"So you have a choice, Baltar. Go to Roslin and Adama and request to be a part of our mission, or we let them find out everything you've been up to. Oh, we'll make sure they find it on their own, but they will find you out." Hollifield told Baltar.

"You blackmailing me?" Baltar asked, looking with fear at Hollifield.

"Yeah, I'm blackmailing you. I see the term is the same on my world as it is yours. So what'll it be, Doctor?"

Baltar looked at Gina, then Six, whose eyes were downcast in shock, but she managed to raise them and her head to look at him, and she nodded to him. Baltar closed his eyes to compose himself, then he gave the president.

"I'll do it. Damn you, I'll do it. As long as you help Gina, I'll help you."


	5. Before You Go Home

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Five:**

**Before You Go Home…**

He was called the "Imperious Leader", mainly because he found it funny. He had been the one to encounter the mechanized Cylons a decade and a half ago, as the machines began to explore the galaxy after the end of their war with the Colonials. They had been impressed with his power, and they asked him to help them get their revenge on the humans. Since he was not exactly fond of them himself, he agreed.

He had used the technology he had found on the world where he resided to assist the Cylons in creating humanform clones, and he had also chosen the subjects to base those clones on. It hadn't taken him long to perfect the techniques, and soon he had been able to merge Cylon technology with organic technology to create a weapon to infiltrate the Colonies and to bring about their downfall.

He also had plans of his own, for a certain third rock from the sun. Thinking back to what they had did to his kind on Earth made him angry, especially in light of recent events over the years. The Cylons knew this and had agreed that if he helped them exact their revenge on the Colonial worlds, they would help him take out his on the Earthers.

Aaron Doral came into his office, bowed, and announced, "The fleet is ready to jump to the coordinates where the _Galactica_ and the rest of the fleet is located. We've learned that _Pegasus_ is there as well. Your orders?"

Imperious Leader scratched his chin, rubbing his leather like skin that came with his advanced age, which he wasn't exactly sure of anymore these days, as he had lost track of time. "Prepare to jump. Let the civilian fleet escape. We'll track them down soon enough after we've dealt with the battlestars. Besides, we need them in order to do what is necessary for the will of God to be enacted. Inform the others, then prepare to jump."

Aaron Doral genuflected again before his master and exited the room, and the Imperious Leader watched him go with satisfaction. The twelve models he had created had so impressed the Cylons that he had essentially become their de facto leader. He took out the book that had gone a long way to helping his ascension to power and thumbed through it, looking randomly through passages. He was about to read more in depth when Six came into the room.

She bowed before him, saying, "Imperious Leader, we are ready to launch our attack on the Colonials, per your orders."

He nodded and placed the book down on his desk and walked out with her. He looked at Six and remembered the woman that he had based her on, and wondered what she was doing back on Earth even now. It was her copy of the Holy Bible that he had obtained and was now sitting on his desk as he made his way to the bridge.

"Action stations! Set Condition One throughout the ship! Launch alert Vipers!" called out Admiral Adama as the DRADIS detected the two battlestars jumping into their sector of space. Surprisingly, they didn't even bother with the Earth Alliance ships for some reason, going after the two battlestars instead.

Commander Saul Tigh ran his hand over his bald head, musing, "Why would they ignore Hollifield's fleet?"

Before Adama could answer, Dualla cut in by announcing, "Sir, we're picking up a signal from the _Independence_! It's in the clear, directed towards the Cylon ships!"

"Patch it through!" Adama commanded, and the voice of the Earth Alliance president boomed over the loudspeakers:

_This is Garrison Hollifield, President of the Earth Alliance, to Cylon vessels. You have illegally entered Earth Alliance territory. Leave at once or we shall used deadly force on your vessels. _

Adama turned to his tactical officer, Lieutenant Felix Gaeta, and asked, "What's the status of the Battlestars?"

Gaeta squinted his eyes as he studied the DRADIS, then answered Adama, "One of them is turning to engage the Alliance forces. She's launching raiders!"

Adama nodded and looked towards Tigh, commenting, "Let's hope Sheridan's plan works."

"General quarters! All hands man your stations!" came the announcement over the loudspeakers, and Kara "Starbuck" Thrace took a instinctive step towards the hanger bay when she realized she was no longer on _Galactica_. General Susan Ivanova, who was with her at the time, noticed and commented, "Wanting to jump into a Viper, huh?"

Starbuck nodded, and Ivanova added, "I feel the same way. Well, except I'd be jumping into a Starfury instead. C'mon, let's get to the bridge!"

When they arrived on the bridge of the _Excalibur_, Ivanova had to remember that Matthew Gideon was no longer in command of this vessel. It had been a long time since she'd been aboard, so seeing the dark skin and bald head of Captain Malcolm King instead of the lighter skin and full head of hair that the man who had done so much to help cure Earth of the Drakh plaguehad caught her up short for a second, but only for a second.

"Status report!" she said, and King returned to give his commanding officer the latest: "We've detected one of the basestars changing course and heading on an attack vector towards us. _Independence, Paladin, _and _Titans _have launched fighters, and Whitestars have assumed attack formation, awaiting orders."

Ivanova gave a sharp nod, ordering the ship and its fighters to engage and attack.

On board the massive mothership of this part of the Cylon fleet, a copy of Sharon Valerii and a copy of the reporter, D'anna Biers, were observing status reports coming in from the battlestars as well as the fighters. Aaron Doral came into the bridge, asking, "What are those ships?"

"Unknown, but they said that they came from something called the Earth Alliance. Isn't there an Earth somewhere in those Colonials' Sacred Scrolls?" Biers replied.

Valerri answered, "It's a mythical world, or so we thought. Looks like myth may not be myth after all."

"Earth is no myth. It's real.", said a voice from the hallway, and the three turned to see Six and the Imperious Leader come onto the bridge. The mechanized Cylons turned, bowed to their Leader, and went back to work. "I know, because I was born there, long ago. They are like the Colonials: sinful, arrogant, murderous. We cleansed the twelve Colonial worlds of the wicked in order for the Second Coming to take place, and we must do the same for Earth."

The four humanoid Cylons bowed in respect to the words of the Imperious Leader and went back to their work. The Leader went to turn back to return to his office with Six in tow, but stopped momentarily and looked off into space.

"Sir?" Six asked, curious as to why the Imperious Leader had stopped.

He chuckled and said, "He's here! Fitting, I suppose, since he's a chip off the old block, after all. Well, a couple generations removed, but a chip nonetheless!"

Six looked on, saying, "Sir, I don't understand!"

The Imperious Leader put his arm around Six and led her back to his office, replying, "Let's just say that the universe is full of irony. Never forget that!"

Garrison Hollifield felt something in his backbrain, something as familiar as the thoughts coming from his parents back when he was a kid. For a moment, it felt like those from his mother, and he frowned at the memory. Cassandra Hollifield may have been his birth mother, but, as far as he was concerned, he had nothing left in common with her. She was gone now, lost in the Telepath War, and he wasn't sad to see her go. What she had done to him when he was a teen was unforgivable, and he had no intention of forgiving anytime soon.

He snapped back to reality as Captain Siobhan Brennan ordered the _Independence_ to follow _Excalibur_ and prepare to attack the Cylon basestar approaching them. Starfury Thunderbolts were dropped out of the ship, and they blazed away towards the oncoming Cylon raiders. Whitestars joined them and they threw themselves at the enemy fighters, taking them out with surprising ease. However, the sheer numbers of raiders made their job all the more difficult, and _Independence _lost three fighters as they began to make their way through the swarm.

The computers blinked for a split second, then came back online. "Status!" called out Brennan in the direction of one of the computer techs, a Indian female with dark skin and even darker hair named Sarishkara. In her clear Mumbai-accented English, she reported, "Cylons attempting to upload some sort of virus to our computers. Internal firewalls working on fighters as well as on main ships. No effect."

Brennan turned to the president and remarked, "Looks like the Colonials were right! Bad thing for them that the Dilgar made us wise to that tactic!" She turned to her fire control officer, a Finn named Kiimo, and ordered him to get a firing solution on the basestar.

Vipers from the _Pegasus _and the _Galactica_ were ripping into the raiders like a chainsaw through a badsheet. Captain Lee "Apollo" Adama and his counterpart heading up the _Pegasus'_ Mark VII Vipers, Captain Cole "Stinger" Taylor, were doing their part to lead the raiders away from the other basestar, hoping to get it out in the open for another part of Sheridan's plan to take place. He didn't know if it would work, but if it could buy them time for the civilian ships to jump away, then it was all for the good. And if it took out the two basestars, so much the better.

Admiral Adama and Commander Tigh looked at the DRADIS, keeping their eye on the basestar and willing it to come to a certain point, which is was very close to doing. "Dee, prepare to send the signal in the clear on my mark!" Adama commanded, and Dee Dualla readied herself to send the code signal. Adama returned his eyes to the DRADIS and focused upon it, steadying himself to give the order at the precise time that was required.

When the basestar moved to the target point, Adama spun around on his heel and yelled, "Dee, now!", and Dualla opened a signal and said, "_Galactica_ to allies: two minute warning! Repeat: two minute warning!" Adama had no idea of what "two minute warning" was to the Earthers, but he knew it wouldn't take two minutes for what the Interstellar ships were about to do.

The Cylon basestar had just launched missiles at the _Pegasus_ when its outer spokes were blown off by the formation of jump points at the basestar's edges. The massive ship visibly shook as the edges of the various vortexes sliced away at the basestar. Meanwhile, the other basestar was getting a similar treatment as well. But the one immediately concerning Adama was being attacked by Minbari and Centauri vessels, who wasted no time in using their beam weapons and slicing into the outer hull of the massive Cylon vessel.

Doral, Biers, Six, and Valerii looked concerned as the basestars suffered terminal damage from the unknown ships, but the Imperious Leader looked on at the defeat with just a wan smile. He saw on the monitor that some of those Whitestars, which seemed to attack in swarms, were headed in the direction of his mothership. "We've done all we could here. Time for us to go! Prepare to jump to new coordinates!"

"By your command!" said the copy of Six, and she pressed a few buttons on the control panel and the ship jumped away from the oncoming ships. The Imperious Leader ran his aged hand through his steel gray hair, which still was full despite all the years, and silently laughed to himself.

The others looked at him curiously, and Doral asked him, "Sir? Why are you laughing?"

"Ah, Mr. Doral! I must admit that I underestimated my brethren from my old homeworld! However, I do think I know something of their tactics, or, more to the point, _who_ is behind those tactics. But that's for another time! For now, we must patch up our basestars and prepare for our next move."

The basestars moved to dock with the mothership, and swarms of repair robots began to repair the damage wrought upon them. From his office, The Imperious Leader looked at them through the monitor and remarked to himself, "So he's not dead yet? Soon, though. He's not got much longer!"

Adama recalled the fighters and both battlestars jumped to where the civilian fleet were now located at. Earthforce and ISA ships were surrounding them to protect it, as well as help lead them to their destination: Babylon 5. Whenever Adama thought of the place, it seemed as if the tension in his body that had started since the attack on the Colonial worlds relaxed a bit, and the fears that all his efforts were in vain ebbed away. From the look in his friend and executive officer's eyes, he could see that Tigh thought that as well.

"Who'd have thought we'd ever get shore leave again? I'll be glad to get to that Earth station and relax a bit, that's for sure!" Tight said.

"You've earned it! We've all earned it! I just thank the Gods they came as soon as they did!"

"Maybe I didn't earn it, after what happened. But I'll take it."

"Trust me, Saul, you earned it. So you goofed? It's not like I hadn't made some major blunders in my time!"

Tigh nodded, adding, "Maybe you're right, but it still doesn't make me feel any better, you know?"

Adama replied, "No, but it's supposed to make you feel that you're not alone in being occasionally stupid."

Hollifield sat in his office aboard the the _Excalbur_ and pondered what he felt in his mind during the attack. He had a feeling of familiarity with someone on board one of those Cylon ships, and it troubled him greatly. _It couldn't be who I think it is, could it?_ he thought to himself. _If it is, then why would he side with them? What's in it for him?_

He walked around, not believing what he was thinking. For now, there wasn't much he could do. Besides, he had to get back to Earthdome and go back to being president. Somedays, he had wished that Suzanna Luchenko hadn't died during the Drakh plague, because it was so much easier to do what he needed to do when he was just vice-president.


	6. Waking Up The Echoes

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Six:**

**Waking Up The Echoes**

Admiral David Rissen was a devout Jew, and he made sure that EarthGov, the slang term for the Earth government, didn't cut the station's budget to keep from having Rabbi Yossel Horowitz sent back to his Brooklyn synagogue. He had done what he could to keep interest in the station and keep Garrison Hollifield's, as well as the late president Luis Santiago's, vision for the station alive.

It was a losing battle these days, as the station barely held 30,000 people, most of them humans, and most of those station personnel. Even the lurkers in Down Below were gone these days, as the program former Interstellar Alliance president John Sheridan spearheaded to help those people out of poverty worked to empty those corridors and give those people some hope for a change. So now, they had to go to great lengths to drum up business: book conventions for anything they could, drum up tourism by setting up tour packages to see the sights of the Shadow War, and so on and so forth.

Rissen took the job because he wanted a quiet place to retire from Earthforce. With the death of his wife a few years earlier, he had jumped at the chance to take command of the station from the retiring military governor, Lieutenant Colonel Elizabeth Lochley-Gideon, who had retired to be with her husband, former _Excalibur_ Captain Matthew Gideon. In the near decade of ruling the place, he had seen it slowly evolve into a backwater. The Interstellar Alliance, located in Tuzinor on the Minbari homeworld, had taken over what had been the primary mission of the station: a sort of intergalactic United Nations, as well as a place of commerce for the plethora of alien races in the galaxy.

Minbar was booming, as were the Centauri, thanks to the popularity of their new emperor, Vir Cotto. The entire galaxy was riding high on a wave of prosperity, especially Earth, but the sad statement was that the place which was most responsible for this state of affairs had been reduced to a shell of its former self.

Now, though, the place was booming, as President Hollifield has signed a series of secret orders to convert the place over to hold the survivors of the Cylon attacks. The hydroponic gardens were being overhauled to meet the increased demands for food and oxygen, and the station needed more personnel to deal with the newcomers.

This would be all well and good had Admiral David Rissen not had to deal with a nosy Earth liaison named Kurt Jamison. He contrasted the admiral's tall, bony frame topped with short gray hair and beard by being a stocky, shabby, hair implanted man whose middle name must be some perverted definition of vanity. The two didn't like each other, mainly because Rissen knew that the Babylon 5 Oversight Committee in the Earth Alliance Senate had forced Jamison upon President Hollifield. It also didn't help that Jamison was a Liberal Democrat while Hollifield's party were the Progressive Conservatives.

And think of the devil, he shall appear. Jamison came in with briefcase in hand, looking like he'd been out all night the evening before. He was a notorious ladies' man, and it clashed with Rissen's more modest, more business-like nature.

Jamison plopped his case down on the admiral's desk, which earned him a glare from the CO of the station, and started in on him. "Why is the president bringing these people here? Doesn't he realize that it's going to be much more expensive to house them here, even with the contributions from the Minbari and the Centauri?"

"Because the president said so, and because these people need a safe haven from their enemies. And because the president believes that these enemies of theirs could be enemies of ours if we don't learn more about them, which is good enough for me. Now, do you want beings who can mimic humans infiltrating EarthGov and Earthforce and set us up for what happened to these Colonials?" answered the admiral, who knew what Jamison really wanted to do with the station.

"Yeah, but do we have to do it at the taxpayers' expense? Things may be good now, but not if the president doesn't cut some of the fat from the budget, especially the mother of all pork projects like this station." Jamison answered.

"Doesn't matter, because they'll be here soon, and I'm not sure how long they'll be here. Their military vessels will be refitted here, and they'll need our resources to construct new fighters as well as train new pilots. We'll also have other Earthforce ships here as well as those crews as well. That means business…" Rissen replied

"Yeah, but we're giving a ton of material to these people for what reason? Look, I know the president means well, but I have to be sure that he's not doing something that's not in the best interests of the Earth Alliance and her people!" Jamison countered.

"This has nothing to do with budgets or even this place. This has more to do with the fact that you ran against the president two years ago and got your ass kicked and your party drummed you out. The LibDems wanted the guy who was on the ticket for the worst defeat the party had ever suffered in its history out of the picture, and what better way than to put him in the position of Earth representative to Babylon 5."

Jamison glared at the admiral and angrily grabbed his case, standing up and saying with particular venom, "When those people are gone from here, this place will close and I'll be sure it gets decommissioned, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it!" He stormed out of the office, barely missing the outgoing executive officer, Major Porshe Del Rio. Rissen was much gladder to see her come into his office, and not just for her attractive Brazilian looks.

Del Rio had jet-black hair and a body that probably was great when she was 21, and still was great at 45. Part of Rissen wishes that fraternization was legal, because he wouldn't have minded to date her, but she was a lesbian and already had a partner back at home. Magdelena Ortiz was quite an attractive woman herself, so he at least admired her taste in women. However, that wasn't all he admired about her.

"Sir, I just wanted to let you know that the lieutenant colonel just arrived and she's ready for the transfer ceremony whenever you are. I just wanted to take this opportunity to say that it has been a pleasure to serve with you for all these years here. I would like to have been here for you to help you keep the place open, but when the president calls…" she extended her hand and he shook it.

"Major, it's been a pleasure to have you under my command. Granted, it's been a lot more boring than our predecessors experienced with their commands, but I am grateful to have had an outstanding officer like yourself serving under me and helping me deal with the myriad of problems that cropped up here anyway. Good luck on your explorer class ship!" He saluted her, and she returned the salute, then walked out to catch her shuttle.

Five days later, the Colonial fleet arrived, along with the two Colonial Battlestars, _Galactica_ and _Pegasus_. Rissen was clad in his dress uniform, along with Doctor Rachel Biggs, chief medical officer, and Chief Warrant Officer Vlad Kiprosov. The exec was in the observation dome, the command and control center of the station, overseeing the arrival of the first transport of the colonials, which included President Laura Roslin, _Galactica_ CO Commander Saul Tigh, _Pegasus_ CO Commander Jack Fisk, Admiral William Adama, head of the Colonial fleet, and all members of the Quorum of Twelve. Accompanying them were former Babylon 5 commanding officer John Sheridan, former Babylon 5 chief of security Michael Garibaldi, and Dan Tanner, presidential chief of staff.

The historic meeting took place in Bay 12, which seemed appropriate for the occasion. Roslin walked forward and spoke to the command staff, "On behalf of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, I want to thank you for your kind offer of safe harbor here."

Rissen replied, "And on behalf of the Earth Alliance, we wish to welcome you here to Babylon 5."

Coming into the bay was the executive officer, and she was hurrying to take her place in line. "Sorry I'm late, but the transport tube had a problem. My apologies."

Rissen said, "No problem. Madam President, may I introduce my executive officer, Lieutenant Colonel Sharon Valerii. She's just arrived here, so she's still getting used to the place."

Adama and the rest of the Colonials were stunned at what they saw. This Sharon Valerii was older than the one they knew. She was in her mid 40s and had some graying in her hair, and she was also heavier than the younger Cylon that they knew. But the voice was unmistakable, and they were all standing there, staring at her.

Lt. Col. Valerii looked at her executive officer and asked, "Is there a problem, sir?"

Sheridan spoke up and said, "I'm afraid there is one. A big one!"


	7. Will The Real Boomer Please Stand Up?

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Seven:**

**Will the real Boomer please stand up?**

"Ok, let me get this straight. These new arrivals, the Colonials, show up and claim that there is a younger version of me that's really one of these…what did you call them, sir?" Lt. Col. Sharon Valerii asked.

Admiral David Rissen replied, "They're known as Cylons. According to the Colonials, they are an offshoot of mechanized beings that they had created decades earlier. We have reason to believe that these Cylons had contact with some organic technology and were able to mimic it in some way. President Hollifield believes that the Vorlons may be involved, because these people came across the border we have with the former Vorlon Empire. Admiral Adama from _Galactica_ claims to have proof and is bringing over the corpse of one of your 'copies' that he claims shot him some time ago."

Lt. Col. Valerii shook her head, stood up and walked around his office, then turned to her commanding officer and said, "Sir, what baffles me is how she got the nickname "Boomer". You know I went to the University of Oklahoma before I entered Earthforce Academy, right?"

Rissen asked, "What does have to do with this?"

"The nickname for the sports teams there is 'Sooners', and one of the cheers the crowd makes at football games is 'Boomer Sooners'. Since I was a cheerleader there and had a loud voice, that's how I got my nickname 'Boomer'. How she got it…sir, this is all confusing to me! I hope you understand that!"

Rissen nodded and replied, "I do. No one is accusing you of anything. Besides, if the Vorlons were involved, they very well could have kidnapped you without your knowledge, taken some of your DNA, and used it to clone copies of you. Either them or someone close to them. For now, think nothing of it, but stay clear of the Colonials. I'll deal with them myself."

Valerii returned to duty, manning the office in the Observation Dome and watching ships arrive and depart. She was finishing off a report for requisitions for the Colonials when a StellarCom transmission came over a Gold Channel frequency, asking for her. Valerii pulled it up and saw the image of an old friend staring back at her.

"Shellie G! Long time no see! I haven't seen you in years! But why are you on a Gold Channel frequency?"

Dr. Michelle "Shelly" Regina Godfrey stared back at her old friend from college days in Norman, Oklahoma and a smile came to her face. "Hey, Boomer! Listen, I've been trying to contact the president regarding a medical procedure I need to perform on his wife. You know, legal mumbo-jumbo." Godfrey said, rolling her eyes at the mention of legalese. "I've not been able to get hold of him, even over Gold Channel. Earthforce says that his ship is under 'radio silence'. Is there any way for you to get a message to him, or put me through to him, because this is very important!"

Valerii replied, "I heard about the First Lady. What do you need to do?"

"Well, she's got a lot of nerve damage that we need to straighten out in her spine. She's temporarily paralyzed until we clean it up, but it's nothing too complex about the procedure. But you know how we doctors like to cover our asses, so I need his approval because he's got power of attorney over her at the moment. I'd really appreciate any help you could be in this!"

"I'll run it by the admiral and see what he can do. I don't know what President Hollifield is up to, and I probably couldn't tell you even if I did know."

Godfrey held up her hands, showing the load of reports she had on her desk, and laughed, "I've got enough on my hands without having to worry about state secrets, but I know what you mean. Just do what you can to let him know and I'll take it from there."

"Will do. Hope to hear from you again soon, G!"

"You too, Boomer."

Later on, Lt. Col. Valerii was in Medlab 1 with Admiral Rissen, Dr. Biggs, as well as Admiral William Adama and Colonial President Laura Roslin, and they all stood around a table on which laid a body covered up with a white bed sheet. "So this is her?" asked Valerii, matter of factly.

Biggs nodded and uncovered the body, showing the autopsied remains of the Boomer copy that had been shot by Specialist Cally out of revenge for what she had done to then-Commander Adama by shooting him once in the gut and twice in the chest after a successful mission to destroy a Cylon basestar. The older, Earth-born Valerii looked at her younger copy and said, "Well, it looks like me, from about fifteen years ago or so. I'd say probably around the time of the Telepath War. She looks to be how I looked when I was between 23 and 25."

Adama coughed and said, "I'm sorry if this makes you uncomfortable, but we just need to know if they based this Cylon model on you, or, in fact, if you yourself are a Cylon model."

Valerii looked at him unfazed, replying, "Well, if I'm artificial, they did a damn good job of faking me. I was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on what we call the North American continent. My dad worked as a civilian at the Earthforce base located nearby, and I lived there all my life. I went to the University of Oklahoma as part of the Reserve Officer's Training Corps for Earthforce, and went to the Academy after graduating. Since then, I've been assigned to a dozen bases on Earth and off world. How they got any of my DNA is beyond me."

Biggs thought for a moment, then asked, "Was there ever a time you were unconscious for any length of time, outside of being put under for a medical procedure?"

Valerii thought back, then snapped her fingers, "You know, there was that time during the Telepath War where I was assigned to the _Agamemnon_ and we were sent to investigate raider activity near Proxima 3. We got jumped on because their base ship had a jump engine and my fighter was hit. The bastards fragged the rest of my squadron, but somehow managed to only damage my fighter. Well, I take that back, there was another pilot who survived the dogfight."

Rissen asked, "Who was that?"

"Guy by the name of Aaron Doral. He was a Lieutenant, if I recall correctly. He'd just been recently assigned to the ship and was my wingman for the mission. Doral got hurt badly during the encounter and left Earthforce not much longer after that. So far as I know, he's back on Earth."

Adama and Roslin both looked at each other and exchanged similar looks. Valerii noticed this and asked, "Don't tell me! Lemme guess: there are copies out there of Doral, right?"

They both nodded, and Valerii turned to her commanding officer and asked, "I want to find out who did this, because I don't appreciate having my DNA taken to make whatever the hell these things are. Whatever I can do to help, admiral, count me in!"

Inside the Earthdome's Medical Center, Dr. Shelly Godfrey poured herself a cup of coffee and didn't bother to add anything to it. She needed that strong, black coffee to help pick her up in the mornings. She brushed aside a strand of her light brown hair from her face and sat down in the hospital's cafeteria to eat her breakfast.

"Morning, Shelly. Have a good night last night at the concert?" said administrator Aaron Doral, who had his tray filled up with food and a steaming cup of java as well.

"Good morning, Aaron. Yeah, my gal pals and me had a great night at the concert. Going to see Ping Pong in concert brought back a lot of memories from high school, and it gave Dieter a chance to have an early start to a long weekend with the kids."

Doral nodded and said, "Good. At least you two still get along. As for me and my ex-wife, I think Narns and Centauri get along better than we do. At least we didn't have kids together, and she's too proud to have asked for alimony."

"Any luck with that new gal from India that just started working in the office?"

Doral shook his head. "Too early to tell. Indira's friendly, but she's still not agreed to go out on a date. Always have one excuse or something."

Another doctor came up to the table and sat down, with a similar array of foods and a cup of coffee on his tray. Doral looked up and said, "Hey, Leo! Vikings gonna win this weekend?"

Dr. Leo Conoy had his hair in its usual buzz cut, and the old man shook his head at the question. "Nah, Minnesota's playing Cleveland this weekend, and the Browns are good again this year, so I doubt we'll pull it off this weekend. Speaking of football, you still owe me ten credits from my LSU Tigers beating your Michigan Wolverines last weekend in Baton Rouge."

Godfrey laughed as Aaron Doral said, "Okay, okay, I'll pay up! I still think that was a touchdown pass no matter what the referee saw in the replay. Those ACC officials always side with you SEC bastards against the Big Ten!"

Godfrey said, "Yeah, but who's ranked number one again this week? Who blew the doors off Tennessee _at Knoxville_, mind you, 63-14? I think we know who that was!" and she smiled as she ate a forkful of eggs.

Both men shook their heads in disgust and it was Doral who said, "After what your Sooners did to my Wolverines last year in the playoffs, makes me wish we still had bowl games like they had back in the early 21st century!"

Godfrey was about to playfully stick the figurative knife a little deeper, but an older blond haired woman came in with an Earthforce officer. "Are you Dr. Godfrey?" asked the woman.

"Yes! You must be D'anna Biers, the First Lady's sister! What can I do for you?" Godfrey replied as she shook the hand of Ms. Biers.

The two walked off to visit First Lady Twanissa Hollifield in her private room, and the two men looked on as they departed. "You know, Leo, I think she'd be interested in you!" said Doral as he elbowed his friend.

Leo chuckled and replied, "Yeah, like I'd stand a chance with her at my age!" The two men laughed and finished their breakfasts.

On board the _Independence_, Earth Alliance President Garrison Hollifield was going over the plans for the raid on Caprica with General Susan Ivanova, Captain Siobhan Brennan, Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, and Rangers Denise Sanchez and Dar'an, a Minbari female who was taller than the president. They were going over the plan to find the Caprican Buccaneers group that Starbuck had encountered on the planet when a Gold Channel message came through to the ship. XO Akhbar came onto the console and said, "Sir, it's a Dr. Godfrey, and she says it's about your wife. Shall I put it through?"

Hollifield said, "Excuse me for a moment." , getting up from the table and standing in front of the communications panel to answer the call. "Receive."

A disheveled looking older blond woman in a white medical coat was on the other end of the call. "Finally!" she sighed and then quickly composed herself, "Mr. President! My name is Dr. Shelly Godfrey, and I am sorry to bother you, as I am sure you have important matters to attend to…"

Hollifield replied, "No, that's quite all right. When it comes to my wife, I'll make time for her. What do you need of me?"

As they conversed, Starbuck's eyes widened. _It can't be her! That voice…_, she thought as she focused on the woman. It wasn't quite like the Cylon woman she had fought on Caprica when she was in the Delphi Museum to retrieve the Arrow of Apollo, but it sounded a lot like her and looked like her if she had aged fifteen years.

"Have you been able to contact anyone in her family? She has a twin sister that lives in Auckland, New Zealand…" said the president.

"Yes, she's here. D'anna?" Godfrey said, and Starbuck's eyes nearly shot out of her eyes when she recognized the woman on the control panel as the same woman who was a reporter for Fleet News Service, only older, roughly the same amount of years as the doctor was.

Starbuck whispered, "My Gods!", and put her hand to her mouth, trying to quell the fear rising inside her. Ivanova noticed and asked, "Something wrong?"

"You could say that." Starbuck whispered back to Ivanova. "I recognize those two women in the monitor!"

Ivanova asked, "How do you know them?"

"Because they look like, or at least what they would have looked like when they were younger, some of the Cylons I've encountered. One I didn't know until I saw that D'anna Biers come on screen."

The implications hit Ivanova just as the president turned away from the monitor, saying, "Sorry about that. An Aaron Doral needed me to approve of a medical procedure that Dr. Godfrey will be doing on my wife. D'anna thought she could approve of it, but the law says it has to be a spouse if the patient is married. Paperwork!" Hollifield rolled his eyes, then noticed the mood at the table had changed, and really got worried when he saw the look on Starbuck's face. "What's the matter?"

Ivanova looked at her old friend and said with that certain tone in her voice that always indicated serious trouble was ahead, "We've got a problem, Mr. President."

Hollifield replayed the message for Six and Dr. Gaius Baltar and Six looked like she'd seen a ghost. Gina, the Cylon copy of Six that had been horribly abused on the Battlestar _Pegasus_, had been moved to the _Independence_ and was under heavy sedation as Dr. Stephen Franklin was personally caring for her. "Is that…me? Is she alive?" asked Six.

"Very much alive. I didn't recognize the resemblance because I've only seen Dr. Godfrey a few times when I was at the hospital with my wife, but seeing Gina confirms it."

Dr. Baltar walked away from the monitor, deep in thought, and then said, "But she's older than she is, as well as Gina! How can this be the same model?"

Hollifield said, "I don't think this is a model, doctor. I think this is the original."

Baltar looked shocked, saying, "You can't be serious! How did the Cylons go to Earth and get copies of these people?"

It was Six who answered the question, and it began to mark a change in her. "I don't think it was the Cylons who got the DNA for my copy to be based on. I think it was someone working for them, or with them. I can't think of anything else that would come up with it. From what I've read of Earth culture from the files I've had access to, I see way too many coincidences between Cylon philosophy and that of certain Earth religions and philosophical movements. I thank you again for the access, Mr. President. They have been quite…revealing."

"No problem. As an old friend of mine once said, 'There are no coincidences'." Hollifield replied, and all three stayed deep in thought over the consequences of these revelations that had come about on this day.


	8. Back Home Again On Caprica

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Eight:**

**Back home again on Caprica**

"So it's settled…Garibaldi and Tessa Halloran will look into these people and find out why there are younger Cylon copies of themselves in existence. We'll try and find out what we can on Caprica, and Adama and Roslin will try and find out more from the reporter that did a piece on them not long ago. Kinda seems strange, since my sister-in-law is rather shy and doesn't like to have her picture taken." President Hollifield said.

"I'll head back to Earth and interview them myself, along with Ms. Halloran. Three of them work in the same facility, and the fourth is the First Lady's sister, so they should have no problem keeping all of this on the Q.T. Last thing we need is this news leaking out to the mass media." Garibaldi added.

Adama walked up to the viewer and asked, "How close are you to Caprica?"

"About a couple of jumps away, from what our star charts say. We're in Vorlon space now, and haven't encountered any of the Vorlon defense systems that took down the other ships that came into this space after the Vorlons left. It could have something to do with me, or perhaps with Starbuck, but we'll worry about that later. Right now, I've got a bunch of Rangers and Earthforce Special Ops personnel ready to go when we get there. I'll let you know what happens when we get back. Hollifield out!"

Hollifield clicked off the display and turned to Starbuck and Ivanova and said, "Well, this whole situation seems to get more bizarre by the minute, and I thought I'd be used to stuff like that by now. Anyhow, it's in Garibaldi's hands now, as well as Tessa Halloran's, and I know those two will find out all they can. Right now, that's not our worry."

Starbuck nodded and added, "Right. I can't be sure of Anders' exact location, but I know where their last headquarters were before we left. Delphi Union High School is in the mountains above Delphi, so we should be able to find it. Are we prepared in case the Cylons have?" Worry filled her voice as she said that, as she wondered what had happened to her lover.

"There's no guarantee that he's still alive, but we have to hope that he is. If he is, as well as his group, then that gives us a leg up on things. We have enough of a force to make some raids and get some intelligence on the Cylons. We can't stay long, because when we take out the Cylon basestars around the planet, they'll want to move fast to replace them and to get back at us for what we've done." Ivanova said, keeping her face hard as a defense against her own worry. Since encountering Starbuck, she had become close to the pilot, having had a few conversations with her and developing a strong working relationship as well as a friendship. Ivanova had never seriously considered having kids, so this strange sense of motherhood coming over her when she dealt with Starbuck was quite a unique feeling to her.

That feeling came out stronger as Starbuck was just about to add something, but grabbed at her side and collapsed. Hollifield grabbed her before she hit the table, and he gently laid her down onto it. Ivanova hit her communications like and called for a medical team to rush her to Medlab on the ship.

"Bad news: she'll have to take it easy for a day or two. Good news: all that happened was that the sutures from the operation that she had for being shot weren't as good as they should have been. Granted, that could have been caused by her overdoing it before she was properly healed. She had some internal bleeding develop, and it could have been a lot worse had she not collapsed like that. I've been able to redo the sutures and fix the problem, so with some rest, she should be ok." Dr. Franklin said to Ivanova as Starbuck lay there, coming out of the daze that the anesthetic had put her in for the operation.

"Doctor, can you tell me why there are _two scars_ on my belly? I never got an answer to what the other operation was all about." Starbuck asked.

Franklin shook his head and said, "I was under the impression that it was just some cleanup work they did for the wound. Granted, it's below where I would have went in, and right near where your left ovary should be…"

Starbuck's eyes went wide and she said, "Wait! You said where it _should _be?"

Franklin and Ivanova looked at each other for a moment, then the doctor said, "So you didn't have it removed because of any medical condition?"

"Those bastards at the farm must have taken it!"

Later on, Starbuck was able to sit in a wheelchair and brought to the conference room, where the Caprican version of Boomer was sitting along with the president, General Ivanova, and Dr. Franklin. Starbuck couldn't look over at the copy of her former friend, but she didn't have the same loathing as she once had, especially after hearing that she had been raped aboard the _Pegasus_.

Boomer said, "From what I can gather, it appears that the Cylons took her ovary to mine the eggs from it in an attempt to create hybrids. So far as I can tell, they haven't planted anything on her, but I can't tell you for certain if she's free of any kind of Cylon implants."

Hollifield sighed and said, "We've checked her out thoroughly and haven't been able to find anything, and our medical sensors are very detailed indeed. So I figure that she's clean, which means that we still have to figure out why they consider her 'special', as you said the Cylons consider her to be." He turned to Dr. Franklin and asked, "Will she be good to go in two days' time when we launch this mission?"

Franklin nodded and said, "I'll have to check her again before you head down to the surface of Caprica, but I think she'll be ok. The sutures' we've used have healed very well, so she shouldn't have any further problems with bleeding, as long as she doesn't overdo it."

"Good. We've got plenty of anti-radiation patches that'll help protect us from long-term exposure to the radiation on the planet. Alwyn jumped in and did some scans of the planet as well as in low-orbit. From what he's gathered, we have four basestars to worry about. We'll use the _Independence, Excalibur, Titans, _and _Paladin_ on each one to draw out their fighters and distract them, then use the Whitestars to jump in close and take out their spokes. With the Minbari and Centauri ships, as well as the other Earthforce cruisers with us, we should be able to take them out.

"Now, we all need to get some rest. Dismissed." Hollifield said, and Ivanova, Franklin and Starbuck exited the room. Boomer stayed seated and Starbuck looked back at her. Hollifield noticed and nodded to her, letting her know it was ok. She then returned the nod and left the room.

"She still doesn't trust me." Boomer said about Starbuck.

"Given the circumstances, I don't blame her. Then again, I deal with people I don't trust everyday, so this isn't exactly unusual for me. Just do what we ask of you and you and your baby will be ok." Hollifield replied.

"I'm afraid of what will happen if I encounter Cylons again. Will they activate something inside of me to turn me against your people?" Boomer said as she looked up at the president.

"Don't worry about that. I've taken care of it!" Alwyn called out as he emerged.

Boomer was momentarily startled, but rallied quickly, saying, "I really hate it when you do that!"

"So do a good many others, but it doesn't stop me from doing it." Alwyn replied.

"I'm sorry, I should have said something earlier to you. He's been here all the time." Hollifield then turned to his old technomage friend and asked, "Are we sure that the jamming equipment we've put on Boomer will work?"

"Wait! You've put it on me _already?_" Boomer asked.

Alwyn smiled and said, "Yes, while you were talking to the group. It's microscopic and undetectable. Nanotechnology happens to be one of my various specialties, and I've been able to create a series of probes that will deflect any Cylon signals being sent to your brain."

"Have you been able to locate Anders and the others?" Hollifield asked.

"You're in luck. They're still at Delphi Union High School. However, you may want to act fast, because they looked to be preparing for an assault of some kind. I'll head back and track them down for you should they leave."

"Good, Alwyn. We need all the help we can get on this!"

Two days later, the ships jumped out of hyperspace and _Independence_ started in on an attack vector towards the basestar nearest her, as did the other ships in the fleet. Alwyn had gotten extremely close to the basestars and had planted scores of microscopic probes onto the ships, and the information from those probes gave the Whitestars as well as the other ships accurate information as to where they were and what the composition of the huge dreadnaughts were.

"Basestar launching fighters. We're detecting missile bays opening up on their ship. Reports coming in from other ships saying other basestars are following suit." A tech said to Captain Brennan.

Captain Brennan ran her fingers through her red hair and looked at the president, who gave her a slight nod. "Launch fighters and bring our defense grid online. Keep them focused on us so that they don't see what's about to hit them!"

Commander Akhbar nodded and relayed the orders. Pulse cannons as well as other weaponry on board the ship deployed and began to pick out targets from the oncoming raiders. Starfury Thunderbolts were dropped out of the ship and zoomed away from the ship.

Minutes passed by like hours as the Cylon raiders raced to meet the oncoming enemy, unawares of what was about to happen. "Get close enough to draw their missile fire! Prepare long range dispersion fire in case they pack nukes into those missiles!" ordered Brennan.

"Aye, Captain! Sensors picking up missiles leaving launch bays! Repeat: missiles being launched!"

"Send the signal, Akhbar! Time to take these babies out!"

The missiles didn't contain radioactive warheads, and the Cylons would live to regret that as the basestars were violently shaken as the tactic of opening hyperspace vortexes beside the massive ships took off the points of the basestar. Whitestars raced out of the vortex, looped around, and dove onto the basestars, opening up on them with pulsed lasers as well as the beam cannons on the noses of the ships. They raced away to deal with the Cylon raiders as Minbari and Centauri ships jumped in and began to slice and pound away at the basestars with their various weapons. It wasn't long before they were reduced to metallic husks and their fighters were taken out with relative ease.

"Easier than I thought it was going to be, but we can't afford to let our guard down. Keep the ship at condition yellow, Captain, and be ready to deal with a basestar jumping in at a moment's notice. We'll head down to the launch bay and prepare to head down to the planet." Hollifield said to Captain Brennan.

"Aye, sir! Good hunting to you!"

The president wasn't going in with a barebones force, as four squadrons of Thunderbolts escorted the squadron of atmospheric shuttles into Caprica's atmosphere. Whitestars stood ready to deal with whatever additional problems that might confront them, as well as doing their own scans of the planet.

Hollifield took out a communications link, which looked like a pen, and hailed Alwyn. "Are Anders and company still at the high school?"

"Yes, they are, but they're about to have company. I've spotted scores of Cylon Centurions as well as a few models of the human variety Cylons. Recommend that you fly in from the south, as they are coming in from the north, and get a jump on them."

"Confirmed Alwyn. Hollifield out.", said the president, who turned to the pilot and said, "Tell the fighters to fly over the high school from the south, and to have their weapons running hot and ready to go. If you see any metallic robots roaming around down there, tell them to turn them into melted slag."

"Yes sir!", said the pilot, and he relayed the message to the Thunderbolts.

Boomer, Starbuck Helo and Ivanova were in Earthforce uniforms, and they were pressed back against their seats because of the speed of the descent. Starbuck felt up the ring on her thumb as she worried about the fate of Samuel Anders.

Samuel Anders and his ragtag bunch of resistance fighters could see the end was near as they spotted the Centurions coming towards the school. They hid themselves well and began to take out as many of the enemies as they could, when a great conglomeration of noises shook the air up. "What the frak!" Anders said as he looked up from his position on the roof, as he watched the fighters scream past the school and headed down towards the Centurions, who opened up on them with the guns that had morphed from their hands. Their bullets may tear into flesh, but did nothing more than scratch up the paint on the Thunderbolts. The megawatt pulse cannons on the fighters, however, did nice work of turning the Cylons into heaps of melted slag when the bolts of energy found home.

Anders looked around and saw two of the shuttles descending down in an open area around the school, while the others found landing areas nearby. They were clearly not Colonial, and didn't look Cylon either. He didn't know who these people were, but he didn't care as he saw the Centurions go down faster than he could count. None retreated, and none were left when the fighters were through.

One of the overseers, an Aaron Doral model, ran alongside another overseer, one of the Six models. They were deep in the forest and got under cover as quickly as they could as the fighters roared overhead.

"Where did they come from? None of the Colonial ships in the records we've found could do anything like what we've seen from these forces! They slaughtered those Centurions…" Doral said.

Six replied, "We need to get back to Caprica City and inform the others! Whoever these invaders are, they won't stop here!" They made their way through the forest and towards the Cylon heavy raider they had flown in. Simon, one of the dark-skinned human male Cylons, as well as a Leoben Conoy copy, met them at the heavy raider and they got on board the vessel and took off.

However, the heavy raider didn't make it as their engines were shot up and they were captures by one of the fighters. The human Cylons were the only ones on the vessel, and the Sharon copy tried to free them, but a bolt from one of the fighters took out their guns. They had no other weapons on board, so they prepared themselves for capture.

Starbuck and Anders ran towards each other and embraced. "I never thought I'd see you again!" Starbuck said through her tears, and Anders replied, "Neither did I!" through his own. When they ended their embrace, Anders asked her, "So where did you find these people?"

"They're from Earth!"

"Yeah, right! That's a myth! C'mon Kara!"

Hollifield said as he walked up to shake Anders hand, "She's telling the truth. We're from Earth, and we've come to help free your worlds."

Anders warily shook the hand, not fully believing what he was hearing. "So when do we get off of here and out into space?"

Ivanova was the one who answered. "Soon enough. You've been raiding these 'farms' that Starbuck told us about, right?" Anders nodded and Ivanova continued, "Then we're here to help you out. We have some news that you need to know, and we have questions that need answers." She looked up and saw the fighters coming in with the damaged Cylon heavy raider and remarked, "And that will provide us with some of those answers."

Anders looked at Starbuck and smiled, hugging her tightly against him and laughing at the turn of good luck that had suddenly come into his life. Meanwhile, Helo and Boomer looked out at the raider being gently lowered down to the ground by the fighter. Rangers and Earthforce special ops forces took positions around the raider as it opened up.

The humanoids came out with their hands up, dressed in a variety of civilian clothes. There were twelve of them, and as they descended, Starbuck and Helo soon discovered that one of them was someone that they knew all too well.


	9. Reunions and Revelations

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Nine**

**Reunions and Revelations**

When the dozen Cylons stepped off the heavy raider, Starbuck expected to see D'anna Biers, Six, Aaron Doral, Leoben Conoy, Simon, and another Sharon Valerii. She also saw three others: the assassin who had tried to take out members of the new Quorum of Twelve back on the Cloud Nine ship, Valance; a cinnamon skinned female who said her name was Adriana Dais, and who looked in her early 20s; and another female, this one a redheaded female in her mid-30s named Lauren Ross.

But it was the last three that made their jaws drop, as Clarissa Cally, Felix Gaeta and Billy Keikeya stepped off the ship. They looked different than their _Galactica_ counterparts: more confident, more arrogant, and more evil. Starbuck and Helo didn't talk to them, as the Earthforce Special Ops operatives, along with the Rangers, hustled them onto one of the Whitestars that had landed near the high school.

"Well, that's a real kick in the balls! I always figured that it was Tom Zarek or Gaius Baltar who were one of the human models. But those three? I never would have suspected it!" Starbuck said, still baffled at the revelation.

Helo shook his head, adding, "What's the chief going to think that his right hand deck specialist is a fraking Cylon? With what happened with the other Sharon…this may be too much for him!"

President Hollifield walked over to them with Samuel Anders, accompanied by General Ivanova. He checked a gauge that measured radiation, grunted, and said, "Not as bad as we feared, but I don't want to stay here any longer than we have to. I've been talking things over with our newfound friends here, and we've found some candidates for liberation. We're going to launch an attack on Caprica City as well as Delphi to tie up the Cylons so we can hit the farms hard and fast. Some Earthforce Marines jumped in on one of our ships, as well as more Rangers on board more Whitestars. We'll spend the night here, then head out tomorrow for the raids."

"What do you make of the new models we found, sir?" Starbuck asked the president.

Hollifield shook his head, "I don't know yet. Outside of the ones we knew about, I don't recognize any of them from anyone I know on Earth. They'll be photographed and documented on board the _Excalibur_, then they'll head back to Babylon 5 as soon as we're done here. I guess they'll have to keep an eye on those three on board _Galactica_ and check the fleet records to see if they spot anyone else matching the other three."

"The blond haired male in the leather coat…his name's Valance. Someone unknown on board the Cloud Nine luxury liner murdered him during a conference. The other two I haven't seen before." Starbuck added as they began to head back to the high school.

Their guests had brought plenty of supplies with them, and the remaining resistance fighters, numbering a little over 50, were happy to know that they would be getting off Caprica and rejoining the fleet. They were a little wary of the grub that the Earthforce Special Ops had brought along, but dug in when their leader pronounced it edible. Anders dug into some Swedish meatballs and said, "This reminds me of something I had once on Tauron when we were playing the Turbos. Don't remember what it was called, but it was good."

"An old friend of mine once said that every highly advance culture had a dish similar to this one. To his race, the Narn, it's called breen. To us, we call it Swedish meatballs, after a country on Earth." Hollifield replied.

"Of all the places I thought of to send people to rescue us, that would have been the last one. I wasn't much for religion growing up, but I had heard of the myth of it. So what sports do you play on Earth?" Anders asked.

"Oh geez, where do I start? There's so many of them! We'll there are a few prominent ones. The two most popular are called football and basketball. Football is known as soccer where I am from, which is the North American continent. I'll save that whole debate for when you get there. It's a sport where you have eleven players to a side, and you try and kick a ball into one of the nets on either end of the field. It's an outdoor sport. Basketball is primarily an indoor sport, played on a court with two baskets on either side of it, and backboards set behind the baskets to aid wayward shots. It's extremely popular where I am from." Hollifield said.

One of the Earthforce operatives, a bald, muscular white guy named Steve Johnson, piped in, "Well, the _real_ football is played in America. That European stuff with the goals and round ball isn't that tough. It's a little complicated to explain here, but I'll show you some vids when I have the chance."

One of the Rangers, an Australian named Miranda Peters, took exception to the comment. "Now wait one second, Rattlesnake! Gridiron's not nearly as tough as Aussie rules footy, as well as rugby league and rugby union. I went to a few AFL Grand Finals as a kid, and I can tell you that Aussie Rules is the toughest sport around."

The debate continued for a while, and Starbuck could see Anders trying to comprehend terms like first down, three point shot, icing, and so on and so forth. "You want to skip desert and get to the good stuff?" Starbuck purred. Anders smiled, picked up his tray, and followed Starbuck back to his bunk.

In the moonlight shining in from the window, Starbuck lay beside her lover, running a finger over the landscape of his toned torso. "I never thought I'd ever see you again, alive at least. I'm really glad I was wrong."

"I know. When I saw you depart, I figured that you weren't going to be able to come back. I didn't doubt you'd try, though, but with the way things are…"

Starbuck kissed him and snuggled up closer to him. "It'll probably be a while before we get a chance to be alone again. Better make the most of it." Anders smiled and Starbuck climbed back on top of him to make more love that night.

The next morning, Anders' people climbed on board a Whitestar instead of using the trucks they were more accustomed to. They marveled at the interior, running their hands along it and wondering about its construction. The Rangers answered where they could, but they also kept them focused on what they needed to do.

The first raid took place at an abandoned hospital just outside of Delphi. Anders and Starbuck could hear the sounds of battle coming from the Colonial military base nearby, and it sounded as if the Cylons were being thrashed. The Earthforce Marines attacked the facility from three different directions, taking out the Centurions with PPG bazookas as well as thermal grenades. PPG bazookas fired off a massive burst of plasma energy that melted the metallic skin of the Centurions, and it wasn't long until the ones guarding the outside of the perimeter were laid waste. Starbuck threw a few thermal grenades and took out some of the toasters as well, and she felt ten feet tall doing so.

The Cylons, human and Centurion alike, fled the facility, clearly overwhelmed by the overpowering force. Marine medics and civilian medtechs hustled those women and men who had been captured by the Cylons aboard the military heavy transports the Marines used and ascended to space as soon as they were full. Reports from other raids told of similar success. It wasn't enough to free all of the survivors of the nuclear holocaust, but it was a start.

Anders clapped a hand on the back of the president as they strode along the interior of the _Independence _and said, "If you only knew how grateful my gang is to you and your people…"

"Don't mention it. When we found out what happened, and Starbuck told me about you guys, I knew we had to come here and get you guys."

"Why?" asked Anders.

"Because we intend to liberate these worlds from the Cylons. You may not have been born on Earth or in its allied colonies, but you're human, and I guess you can say I feel like I have a duty to help you guys out. I've spent my life putting it on the line to protect humanity. Why stop now?"

"But why us? I mean, my guys are just a pyramid team who only got what we knew about fighting from movies and such. We're not professional soldiers!"

"No, Anders, but you guys could be part of the Rangers if you want. It'll take a while to mount the kind of offensive we'll need to take these worlds back for you, but we'll do it. Your human cousins on Earth are stubborn bastards!"

Anders chuckled along with the president, then grew serious again, "But Starbucks says that there are less than fifty thousand Colonials left! How do you rebuild the Colonies of Kobol from that?"

"I don't know, Anders. I wish I had an answer for you. But we'll damn sure try. We'll come up with a working arrangement with my government that'll create an alliance between the Colonies and the Earth Alliance, yet retain your independence. And to think I was thinking of not running for another term…" Hollifield shook his head and laughed without much humor.

"How old are you, anyway? You look like you're in your mid-sixties, yet you seem to have the energy of a man half your age." Anders asked.

"Clean living. Seriously, I have no idea. It's a long story, and either Starbuck or myself will fill you in on the rest. There's another reason I'm here, and it's rather complicated."

They entered Anders' assigned quarters, which happened to be right next door to Starbuck's. Anders found this out when Starbuck emerged from her room, sent a sultry smile his way, and walked off with General Ivanova. "So how did you know about us?" Anders asked.

"Well, she _did_ tell me that she had a thing for you. And I don't blame you for having a thing for her." Hollifield winked at Anders, and the two men entered the room to converse some more about future plans.

"He's a handsome fella. If I were younger, of course, you wouldn't stand a chance!" Ivanova said.

Starbuck playfully mocked her friend by wiggling her fingers at Ivanova, who laughed and threw a mock punch back at her. The officers and enlisted men were looking at the two in surprise, because they were used to seeing the general as a hard ass. The two had grown close since the discovery, and it started off with a moment that happened shortly after Starbuck's Blackbird was picked up.

She lay in the hospital bed, bored but curious. She felt safe, or as safe as you could be flying around in a tricked-out tin can. Dr. Franklin came in with what looked to be a handheld computer, glanced at it for a moment, then turned his attention to his patient. "How are we doing today?"

"Better. When can I get out of bed and back to my ship?" Starbuck answered.

"Soon. You're like someone I know." Dr. Franklin said as he laughed. "She never liked being in a medical bed for any reason. She'll be here shortly to debrief you and to find out more about these 'Colonials'. While you were out, we did a full work-up on you."

"Work up?" Starbuck asked, then noticed an older brown haired woman in a dress uniform similar to the one that Franklin wore.

"Yeah, we do it to check for any infectious diseases that you may be carrying. My day job is head of the Xenobiological Institute back on Earth, but I am also the presidential physician, so I happened to be along with him when we found you." Franklin turned and noticed General Ivanova had come in. "Lieutenant Thrace, this is General Ivanova. She's the chief of staff for our military forces, and she asked to speak to you when you were able to do so."

"General." Starbuck said, nodding to Ivanova and the general nodded back. "So is there anything else, doctor?"

"Yeah, just one thing. I was curious about your fingers." Franklin said, and Starbuck began to get that same feeling she had back when the Cylons had captured her. _Oh no, not this again!_ Starbuck thought as she fought back the memories of the abuse she had suffered at the hands of her mother. "They seem to be broken in the same places on each finger. I was curious as to how that happened…"

Ivanova could sense Starbuck's distress with her latent telepathic abilities, but she could also see it in her face, as a mask of fear began to emerge on it, as if she had been through this before. Ivanova coughed to get Franklin's attention, saying, "I'm sure it's not a big deal, doctor. Besides, my questions are somewhat more important. If you'll excuse us…" She sent him a look that said _Get the hell out of here or you'll be sorry_, one that Franklin knew all too well. He made as graceful an exit as he could, leaving the two women alone.

Starbuck sighed relief and said, "Thank you, General. You don't know how grateful I am."

"Don't mention it. I saw the look on your face and I figured that Franklin was going into some rough territory. His bed manner's usually better than that." She pointed to her fingers and said, "I figure that you didn't get it rock climbing or playing a sport."

Starbuck shook her head and said, "If it's all the same to you, General, I'd rather not go into it."

Ivanova nodded, saying, "I understand. If you ever want to, though, I'll be glad to help you out. I can't imagine what you're feeling right now, with all that's gone on."

"Yeah, it's a bit overwhelming to say the least. I never expected to run into anyone from Earth out here."

"Indeed. Now, let's get down to business so we can get this over with and we can get you settled in…" Ivanova and Starbuck debriefed for a long time, and talked for even longer than that.

Starbuck had no idea how she bonded with the general, as it seemed as if they were polar opposites. Ivanova seemed to be the pillar of military discipline, while Starbuck bucked it every chance she got. However, as they had found out through their long talks, it was a lot more complicated than that. Starbuck had told her all about her abusive mother, who had been a Colonial Marine, and a musician father who hadn't had all the oars in the water. Ivanova had told her about her mother committing suicide because of the "sleepers" she had to take to suppress her telepathic abilities. The bond between them wasn't exactly mother-daughter, but it was emerging to all who knew them that Starbuck had been taken under Ivanova's wing.

On Caprica, the Imperious Leader sighed as he walked over the wreckage of one of the facilities. His face was impassive, and he could tell that the human Cylon models were nervous around him. He wasn't mad or upset at the raid, as he knew of the capabilities of the ships, unlike his creations.

He sensed something, then smiled. One of the Cally models came up to him and asked about the expression on his face, which was a curious smile.

"My dear Cally! As I told one of the Shelly models, irony is the only constant in the universe. I could feel his presence, and I can tell he intends to stop us."

"Who, Imperious Leader? Who will try to stop God's will?" Cally asked.

"Why, my grandson, of course. He doesn't know it, but he'll find out soon enough about his pedigree." He focused even further, and laughed out loud as he recognized something. "Well, it looks like he's got more to him than I realized! I guess Natasha would understand what I mean if she were still alive."

"Natasha? Who's Natasha, Imperious Leader? If I may be so bold…" Cally asked cautiously.

Imperious Leader smiled at Cally and said, "Her name was Natasha Alexander, and she was my assistant long ago. She would know about Fiona Dexter and her son, Stephen. Wouldn't the president be surprised to find out that Stephen and he were _related_? They didn't have the same grandmother of course, because Hollifield's not a descendant of my dear love Ninon from so long ago.

"No, I had a brief fling with a married woman who worked for me long ago. Wasn't the proper thing to do, I suppose, but even I have my weaknesses. Lorrie had such beautiful eyes…"

On board the _Independence_, Starbuck, Anders and Hollifield were chatting in the president's room on board when Starbuck noticed a picture on the desk. "Who is that woman in the picture frame?"

Hollifield smiled and said, "That's my grandmother Lorrie MacPherson. She used to work in Geneva back before my mom was born, then she met my father and they moved to his native North Carolina. She died when I was in college…"

On Caprica, Imperious Leader took out a similar photo, which had writing on the back. "To my dear Kevin, Love Always, Lorrie" it said, and he smiled and put it back in his wallet. He smiled at the irony that he only knew, and wondered if Alfred Bester and Garrison Hollifield had any idea that they were related.

Another picture in the room was that of the legendary Earth Alliance senator Lee Crawford, who was with Kevin in the picture. "Senator Crawford, along with his aid, Kevin Vacit, confers during a meeting of the Senate Oversight Committee for the Metasensory Regulation Authority." It was the very meeting that saw Desa "Blood" Alexander die at the hands of Daria Beaudoin, a renegade telepath who was a double agent for the telepath resistance.

Vacit thought to himself, _The dream that I had for telepaths long ago was really the dream of the Vorlons. Now, with them gone, I have even greater dreams for my children. I want to unite them and create the ultimate human race: telepathic Cylons. And no matter what those Colonials and Interstellar Alliance fools do, I will prevail. Because God has selected a chosen people, and I will be their Moses. _

_And this time, Moses will make it to the Promised Land: Earth._


	10. Searching for Secrets

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Ten**

**Searching for Secrets**

Garrison Hollifield knew what he had to do and he knew where he had to go. It wasn't hard convincing the others to go to where he had to go, one of the benefits of being commander in chief of Earthforce. It also helped that he was Anla'Shok Zha, or Ranger Two, a position he had held since he had joined the Rangers back when Jeffery Sinclair took over the Minbari institution and helped revive them to fight the Shadow War. He wasn't around for that, as he went back in time on board Babylon 4 to become Valen, a Minbari not born of Minbari who became the main messianic figure in Minbari religion.

He always thought that was as weird as his life would ever get, but he was wrong. In his sixty-five years of life, he'd fought in the Earth-Minbari War, only to eventually come to peace with them and eventually become more comfortable around humanity's former enemies than with his own people. He'd fought aliens of unimaginable power and was a part of the victory, which freed the younger races from the galactic games, played out over the eons by the Vorlons and the Shadows, as well as played a part in freeing Earth from the brutal fascist regime of President William Morgan Clark. He served briefly as Earth's representative to the Interstellar Alliance before becoming vice president for President Suzanna Luchenko, who died during the last days of the Drakh plague of a rare strain of fast developing breast cancer.

Hollifield hadn't wanted to be president, but he had it now, having served out Luchenko's remaining term and winning two more of his own. He had led the Earth for over a decade, weeding out the last of Clark's allies and putting in people who would do right by him after he left office. There was no guarantee of that, but there never were in the realm of politics.

It hadn't been that long ago when he sneaked out of Earthdome to assist Vir Cotto in exposing the Drakh presence on Centuari Prime, which led to the sad demise of Emperor Londo Mollari and the rise of Cotto to become Mollari's successor. Like himself, Cotto had not wanted to be head of state, but he had to assume the reins for the betterment of his people.

Now this had come, and he sometimes wondered if his lot in life was to be crisis management. He had been told by Delenn that he was a creature of destiny, and that it was folly for him to deny it. It made him angry at times, because all he had wanted out of life was to have a family and have a nice career he could look back on with pride. He had a wife, but no children, and he had a career that many would be proud of, but he himself wondered if he had done all he could, or all the mistakes could justify the blood on his hands.

He sat by himself in the mess hall, eating his meal. The officers and enlisted personnel were in awe of him, and not just because he was president. He was a survivor of the Battle of the Line, the climatic battle in the Earth-Minbari War that saw 20,000 humans go into the line of fire, but only 200 emerge. He had been one of them, and they had called him a hero. It had helped him to assist Luchenko in those days after Clark's overthrow to hold the government together, and had helped him in governing after Luchenko's passing.

Hollifield looked out the window in his cabin and out into space. They were on the way to Kobol, the alleged origin of humanity according to the Colonial religion. According to them, they had all been on Kobol two thousand years ago, when a great cataclysm occurred and the thirteen tribes of humanity left to head out into space. Twelve went to a solar system prepared by the Lords of Kobol (whom Hollifield strongly suspected of really being the Vorlons), while another went to Earth.

It seems ridiculous, because human history stretched far beyond two thousand years. Christ would have been a quarter of a millennia dead when the thirteenth tribe had arrived, and surely they would have been noticed. He didn't completely buy into the story, but there were parts of it that intrigued him nonetheless.

His advisors had said that he should just go straight back to Babylon 5 and go back to Earth after seeing to things there, but he had ignored them. General Ivanova understood why he was doing this, but only to a point. She didn't know the suspicions that he had come up with in regard to the Colonials and the Cylons. He didn't feel like sharing them with anyone until the time was right, or at least all of them.

The Sharon "Boomer" Valerii who was pregnant with Helo's child was on board the _Independence_ with them. The captured human Cylons had been sent on to Babylon 5 to be checked out by his people there. Gina, under the care of Dr. Gaius Baltar was also aboard, and she was improving bit by bit thanks to Dr. Franklin's care. Hollifield didn't know what to legally do about the abuse Gina had suffered at the hands of the crew of the _Pegasus_, but he had plenty of ideas of what to do illegally. It turned his stomach to think of what they did to her, but it was also an opportunity as well, and he intended to seize it.

Boomer was in her quarters when Hollifield came in. When she came on board, Adama's crew had brought her on board in chains, afraid of letting her get free, but Hollifield had told his own people to not follow suit. She was confined to her quarters, but could receive visitors such as Helo. She had come with them down to Caprica, but had stayed behind on Hollifield's orders because of fears that she might get recaptured.

"So when do we get to Kobol?" Boomer asked the president.

"Less than a day away. We're taking an overwhelming force, just in case we meet some Centurions. You feel up to helping us find the Tomb of Athena?"

"Yes sir. It shouldn't be too hard to get there, especially since we can land closer to the location with your ships. But what do you expect to find there?"

Hollifield replied, "There are a lot of questions I have about these Lords of Kobol and all the other stuff that supposedly links we Earthers with the Colonials, as well as with you Cylons. When I got the vision, Starbuck, Adama, Apollo, and Roslin were there in the tomb, but I also saw someone I knew from long ago."

"Who was it?" Boomer asked.

"Her name was Lyta Alexander. She was a telepath, like me. She was officially a P-5 rated one, with P-12 being the highest rated telepaths known. However, like me, she got some help from the Vorlons.

"She was the first human to gaze upon the real form of the Vorlons, or at least officially. The Vorlon ambassador was allegedly poisoned upon his arrival to Babylon 5 for the first time, supposedly at the hands of her commander at the time, Jeffery Sinclair, an old friend of mine. The main evidence against him was found when she scanned the Vorlon and he showed her what he supposedly saw.

"I later learned that it was a manipulation by the Vorlons to take custody of Sinclair for their own reasons. It's a _very_ long story about why they wanted him, but, in the end, Sinclair was proven innocent, as someone had impersonated him and was the one who 'poisoned' the Vorlon. When the Psi Corps found out what happened, they immediately transferred her back home and sent another telepath to the station, a woman named Talia Winters.

"They put Lyta through the ringer, so much so that some of my sources in the Psi Corps worried about what they would find. With some associates of mine, I helped her escape and go rogue, and she managed to get into Vorlon territory on her own, where she was, like me, altered."

"Altered? How?" Boomer asked. She had trouble following the whole story, even after finding out about the Corps and other parts of the story earlier.

"The Vorlons were the ones who created telepaths long ago, through genetic manipulation. We were to be used as cannon fodder in their ongoing war against the Shadows. They created telepaths on a hundred worlds to be used against their enemies, and they speeded up the process after they saw how effective telepaths were when the Shadows arrived on a world known as Narn. The Shadows managed to wipe them out thanks to some allies they had among the people of Narn, but not before the Vorlons had noticed what had taken place.

"So the Vorlons went to the Centauri, the Minbari, and to Earth to create telepaths and to help them evolve. They nudged us, helped us along, and pushed us to be as powerful as we could become so that we could be used in the next Shadow War. Which we were, but not in the way that the Vorlons had envisioned.

"Boomer, it's my theory that the Vorlons had some purpose with the Colonials. I think they came from Earth in our ancient times, took some of our people and settled them on Kobol for some reason. When the Shadows found out about them, they attacked and the Vorlons had to remove the humans from the planet and take them deeper into their territory. Thus, they terraformed twelve worlds to serve as home to the Colonials, to be used by the Vorlons when they found a need for them.

"I don't know why they did it. Perhaps as some 'insurance policy' if Earth came into peril or something. Perhaps they wanted to, eventually, create telepaths among the Colonials and use them as well as us in the war. I simply don't know, which is why we are going to Kobol.

"That, and the fact that I think that they are somehow involved with your creation as well. The Cylons don't know where Earth is, because if they did, they could have tried to do to it what they did to the Colonial worlds. But they had to have come into contact with humans from my world in some way, and I want to find out how. If we are able to do so, then perhaps we can find out how we can deal with the Cylons."

Boomer couldn't understand it all, but she understood the need for answers. "So what's to become of us if you get your answers? Will you try to wipe all the Cylons out?"

"Not if I can help it. Yes, the Cylons committed unspeakable genocide against the Colonials, but I've been too close to the brink of my own race's extinction to sentence an entire race to oblivion. Besides, in a way, you're just as much a victim of the Cylons as the Colonials are."

"Victim? How so?" Boomer asked, perplexed.

Before he could answer that, the chime to Boomer's quarters rang. Boomer told the computer to open the door, and Helo entered. "Mr. President, General Ivanova asked me to tell you that they need you on the bridge. There's been a problem."

"How is she?" Admiral William Adama asked.

Doctor Rachel Biggs replied, "Not good. The cancer has started to spread to other parts of her body, and her body is taking quite a toll. Finding out her chief aide was a Cylon was a huge blow to her, and it sent her body into shock. We've been able to treat her enough to keep her alive for a few more months, but the cancer is irreversible."

Adama put his hands on his face and leaned his head back, still in shock over the news of the discovery of all twelve humanoid Cylons models. Billy Keikeya, Felix Gaeta, and Clarissa Cally were now in custody on board Babylon 5, and the revelation that two more of his crewmembers had turned out to be Cylons had been devastating to his soul.

As he departed Medlab, Commander Saul Tigh, the commanding officer of the Galactica, met him and it was clear that Tigh was troubled by the revelations as well. "Of all the people, who'd have thought it had been those three? Especially Gaeta! I just thank the Gods we got here before he could do more damage than he did!"

"How's the computer overhaul going? Gaeta had complete access to the systems, so the Gods only know what all kinds of surprises he placed inside them."

"B5's techs are helping us out with that, and they're doing a damn good job of it. Rissen's asking Earth to send us some more techs through the president's office, not letting them know exactly why. Hopefully we can get them, because, right now, if the Cylons launch a full-scale assault on the station, we're not ready for them."

Adama reassured his old friend by saying, "Hollifield and Sheridan wouldn't have brought us here if we didn't have a chance to fight them off here. Sheridan's told me that they'll be sending some of the newer warships in the Interstellar Alliance fleet here for protection, along with Minbari ships as well as Earthforce's Sixteenth Fleet. We'll be ready as we can for them, if the need arises, but I hope that they won't be needed."

Walking up to them was Lt. Col. Sharon Valerii, and both of them were stunned for a moment, even though they knew she wasn't a Cylon. "Gentlemen, the admiral requests your presence in his office. _Excalibur_ will be here shortly, and he wants you to be there when the twelve models we captured are brought on board. If you'll come this way…"

Admiral Rissen was finishing up a call on the monitor when Adama and Tigh entered his office. They were taken aback at the four other people in their office. They recognized the people on whom some of the human Cylons were based: Drs. Shelly Godfrey and Leo Conoy, administrator Aaron Doral, and D'anna Biers, sister of the First Lady. Adama knew that the D'anna Biers-named reporter for Fleet News Service was under arrest and on board Babylon 5, and she was raising a ruckus about being held as a Cylon.

"Admiral Adama. Commander Tigh. Good. We've found out where the other people who the Cylons supposedly based their humanoid models on are, and they are being asked to come here." He turned to the monitor and activated a presentation on it.

The picture of Billy Keikeya came up, clearly older and with longer hair. "William Keikeya is a writer based out of Hollywood, California. Hollywood is the main heart of our entertainment industry on Earth, and he's a well-known screenwriter. He's 40, and he's very different from the guy you know. I think the word 'abrasive' comes to mind."

"This is Clarissa Cally." Admiral Rissen continued as he changed the picture. She's a senator in the American Consortium's Congress, and she's based out of its capital, Washington, DC. Much like Keikeya, she's very different than the one you're used to. They say in the media that she's stuck between choosing to run for the consortium's presidency or for its seat in the Earth Alliance Senate. I know her through the president, and she's very no-nonsense."

Rissen flipped to another picture, this one of Simon Powell, who was an older black male of roughly mid-40s. "Simon Powell is a basketball coach for the University of Kentucky, which will annoy the president since the Wildcats are on of his alma mater's main rivals in college basketball."

Tigh interrupted, "Basketball? What the frak is basketball?"

Rissen sighed and replied, "I'll explain it later, but it's a sport played on Earth." Rissen changed the picture over and the picture of Felix Gaeta came on the screen, and both Adama and Tigh straightened their backs up, still shocked at the thought that the ever reliable tactical officer had been a Cylon all along. The human he was based on was different, and not because he was older and gray haired.

"Felix Gaeta is based out of New York, and he's a political activist who doesn't trust the government. When he was in college, he was jailed by President Clark's office for subversion, as he worked in the resistance. What he went through made him very cynical indeed, so I don't know if he'll want to come or not. Supposedly he's worked with the president back before Clark took power, but I don't know that for sure."

Rissen went down the rest of the list, and then turned his attention to the five originals already in the room. "You've been brought here because we wanted to tell you first hand about what was going on, and ask you to keep this a secret until we have figured out what to do about this. This is as much of a shock to all of us as I can imagine that it is to you."

"You bet your ass it is! I don't know when they did it, but I want to find out who got my DNA and made these beings, because it's a violation of my privacy! Lord knows what my copies may have done! I want whoever did this brought to justice!" Conoy said in his light Louisiana accent. He crossed his arms and looked as if he was about to explode with rage.

"I want answers as well. If what the Lieutenant Colonel told me is true, they could have grabbed us back fifteen years ago when I was in Earthforce, taken my DNA, and went off and made scores of copies of myself. It's bad enough that this is a massive invasion of my personal privacy, but to think that some of my copies may have been responsible for genocide…" Doral shook his head and looked down.

Godfrey looked like she hadn't slept in days, and Adama was struck by how different she was from the being he had met months earlier when a copy of her had brought it to his attention that Baltar may have been a traitor. That Godfrey tried to seduce him, while this one looked like she was about to fall asleep on the admiral's desk. She did have the energy to speak though. "Admiral, I don't know when they could have grabbed me. Fifteen years ago, I was a newlywed and in medical school, just trying to get my medical degree and making my marriage work. If what you say is true, then somehow they got me when I was unconscious and unable to notice them taking my DNA. I do know that the next time that I went to the doctor for a checkup, my left ovary was missing."

"That's funny. Mine's missing as well! I never knew it had been missing until I had surgery on my kidney fifteen years ago!" said Biers, who looked at Valerii, who added, "Same here. I only have one as well."

"So do you know what happened to your left ovary?" asked Franklin.

"I think they took it when I was in that farm after being shot. I don't know what good it'll do them, because why didn't they just do it to the others instead of hooking them up to those fraking machines! Speaking of them, how are they doing?" replied Starbuck.

"They're alive and recovering. Their reproductive systems went through a lot, but they should be able to fully recover. The women will have a tougher time to recover than the men, as they were directly hooked up to the machines while the men were…well."

Starbuck chuckled at the thought of the attachment used to milk the men of their semen, and was sure that Franklin was blushing despite his dark skin. Franklin managed to continue, "I'm having them taken to Babylon 5 for further analysis. The radiation damage to them is bad, but not as bad as I feared. Our anti-radiation meds should help them recover."

Franklin showed Starbuck out of his office, then went over to the lab where Gina was being kept. As usual, Gaius Baltar was there, doing what he could for her. This time, though, the president was there as well. "Morning, Mr. President. How is she doing today?"

"From what I can tell, she's getting better, but she's still not able to communicate. The brain scans you ran showed little damage to her physically, so the psychological trauma must be far worse than we imagined." Hollifield added.

"How's he holding up?" Franklin asked.

"Baltar? He's a few cards short of a full deck, that's for sure, but I think he's able to help us with finding out about how they Cylons developed these human versions of themselves. He'll come with us when we land on Kobol. I've assured him Gina will be alright in your care." Hollifield answered as they observed Baltar care for Gina.

Sitting on the floor, Baltar gently talked to Gina, telling her all about the woman he loved, and who was now in his head. Hollifield knew that it wasn't a chip inside Baltar's head, nor was it a mental projection on Baltar's part. It was as if Six's personality had "jumped" into Baltar when the shock wave of the nuclear blast ran through his home, destroying her but allowing him to live. He knew it wasn't Shadow tech in his mind, but he wasn't quite sure if it was Vorlon technology either.

Franklin and Hollifield left shortly thereafter, leaving Baltar and Gina alone. Six appeared before Baltar again, and, once again, was dressed very conservatively, as if in mourning. She had apparently abandoned all pretense of seducing him since they had found Gina. "She looks like she's getting better." Six said hopefully.

"She is. Franklin's helped deal with her malnutrition and dehydration, but she still won't talk to me! What could they have done to her to make her like this?" Baltar asked exasperatedly.

"Humans are violent people by nature, but, maybe, after seeing some of the other side of them, maybe there is more to them than we thought." Six mused.

"What do you mean by that?"

Six smiled at him and said, "I once said that God had a purpose for you, and he still does. But I think that the purpose was much different than I ever imagined. Maybe its something completely different than I had been led to believe."

Baltar looked at her with a look of complete lack of comprehension on his face. Baffled he said, "What about the baby that Boomer is going to have? The visions I've had about Adama being a threat to it? About all the rest? You've changed! Why?"

"I don't know. Maybe I've had a change of heart. Maybe it was the fact that encountering the president and Alwyn made me look at things anew. Or, maybe, I misinterpreted what God wanted me to do after all."

"Well that's a fine thing to say after all we've done! What do you have to say for yourself?"

Six looked at him and said, "I guess this child of humanity has started to grow up, Gaius, and realized that the parents weren't so bad after all."


	11. And So Was Said, Long Ago

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Eleven**

**And So Was Said, Long Ago…**

They landed closer to the original landing site, but it was still a long way to hike to the Tomb of Athena. The weather was good, though, as it stayed cool but dry, and a gentle breeze from the north helped to refresh the spirits of those walking along the trail to the tomb. Boomer was in the lead followed by Starbuck and Helo, then President Hollifield and General Ivanova. Several Rangers and Earthforce security officers accompanied them, all of which Hollifield personally knew and trusted. He knew that keeping the lid on the Colonials was next to impossible, but he had to do what he could to hold it on for as long as he could.

The team arrived at the tomb unhindered by Centurions, and Helo, along with several of Hollifield's trusted associates helped push the doorway open. Starbuck, Helo, Hollifield and Ivanova entered the tomb, while Boomer stayed outside at her own insistence. Walking inside, Boomer noted that the place was much the same as she left it, and she spotted the statue of Sagittaron, the archer. She indicated to the others where she was going, and she slowly walked up to the statue, taking out the Arrow of Apollo from the pack slung across her shoulder. With trembling hands, she held it just above the hands of the archer. "You ready?" Starbuck asked the group, and they all indicated they were.

She placed the arrow in the hands of the statue, and the doorway suddenly slammed shut. "Holy crap! Did you see that?" said one of the security officers.

"Starbuck said this happened before, so we'll give them time to get out. The president and the general have monitors on them, and we're still picking up their signal.", said one of the Rangers by the name of Molly Harkins, whose brown hair flowed down and matched the color of her uniform. The others nodded and sat down to wait out the others, and Boomer seemed to be the most nervous of them all.

Inside, Starbuck noted that she was not in a field of grasses anymore, and it wasn't nighttime either. It seemed to be the early morning, and they were standing on a hill, outside of an ancient temple. From out of nowhere, a woman with long red hair walked up to them, wearing a black pantsuit. "So you came to see the truth? Are you sure you want it?"

Hollifield turned to the image of Lyta Alexander and answered her, "Yes, I want those answers. They'll only produce more questions, but I want as many answers as I can get."

Lyta snorted and replied, "If you only knew…well, let me begin by asking you where you think we are on Earth?"

They all looked around, and Ivanova said, "This looks like the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. Only it's not ruins like the one on Earth."

"Yes, you are correct, Susan. Long ago, they came to Earth to take those who chose to come. The Vorlons knew, somehow, we were special. They found beings on an island continent who fit the mold of those they wished to transport to a new world, but they also came here, to Athens, and took people from here, as well as other parts of our world: Asia, Africa, Australia, the Americas, and other parts of Europe. They took with them the knowledge and beliefs of the Greeks and Atlantians, and forged them into a mythology that they hoped proved helpful for their plans.

"You see, the Vorlons had their eye on the humans, long before anyone else did. They also knew that the Shadows had noticed our race from their travels. Our location was remote, and we were virtually isolated from the greater part of the galaxy. They knew that the Shadows would try to bring us into the war someday, so they took some of us and moved them to a world on the edge of Vorlon territory, known in the ancient tongue of one of the tribes of man as Kobol."

Lyta waved her hand, and the room transformed, changing into a vast star field. She zoomed in on the Sol System, and brought them close to the home world of the humans. "Is that…_Earth_?" asked Starbuck, who was beside the president.

"Yes, it is." Hollifield replied, entranced in the imagery.

"It's beautiful!" she said, her eyes locked onto the planet.

Lyta continued on, not noticing their whispered banter. "The Vorlons came with great ships and took away those they had gathered in Atlantis, destroying the continent so that others would never know of their interference, using their powers to create a volcanic eruption that consumed the island. This happened almost four thousand Earth years ago."

Helo spoke up and said, "That's roughly around the same time as the first Scrolls were written."

Lyta rambled on, "Every so often, the Vorlons came to the humans here, in disguise as the various 'gods' of the Greek religion. They kept our kind here, in the hopes of uniting them with the humans left on Earth and one day raising both to help them defeat the Shadows once and for all."

Starbuck looked lost, not wanting to believe what was being said. To her, the gods were supposed to be real, but to hear that they were aliens intent on manipulating them for their own needs was a shock to her system. She reached into the pocket of her jacket and thumbed the figurines of Artemis and Athena, the gods that she prayed to, and said a silent prayer to them asking for understanding.

"Two thousand years ago, the Shadows found out about this place, and convinced their allies to launch an attack on this place. The Vorlons and their allies defeated them, but they needed to evacuate the humans to a system far from the reach of the Shadows and their allies. Thus, they created the myth of the Great Exodus, and settled the humans onto twelve worlds that they had terraformed to serve their purposes. There, they allowed them to flourish, tinkering with them to adjust their languages and cultures to closely resemble that of those on Earth." Lyta finished her lecture and put her hands to her sides.

Hollifield came forward and asked, "Why did they do this? I still don't understand!"

"They did it because they saw within us the mind set that would win them the war. They saw that we tamed chaos and brought order to our world, and they thought it was good. We flourished faster than any race that they had ever known, and they decided that they would help make us into their image. For generations, they tinkered with us, through visions and chance encounters, nudging us in the direction they needed us to go. They knew the Shadows had visited Earth as well, and were also doing what they had to do to foil their enemies. This was why the Vorlons took some of the humans away: to deny the Shadows all of our kind."

"But why? Surely there were other races they could have chosen?" asked Ivanova.

"They chose us because we had the genetic makeup to create telepaths. The Colonies of Kobol were to be their backup plan, in case Earth didn't make it. When Valen arrived a thousand years ago, they realized that Earth would be key to the next Shadow War, and they stepped up their efforts. Their vision was to, one day, reunite humanity and drive the Shadows away for good."

"But it didn't happen that way?" Helo asked.

"No. John Sheridan came along and forced our hand. He made the Vorlons and the Shadows flee the galaxy, and left the Colonials to fend for themselves. They knew of the Cylons, but did nothing to stop them from attacking the Colonials, as they knew that the Earthers would be around for the Shadow War. So, when the Vorlons left twenty years ago, the Cylons went to a world on another frontier of the Vorlon Empire." Lyta then waved a hand and the room spun around as they went to another part of the galaxy.

"I know this world! Garibaldi showed it to me once shortly after the end of the Telepath War. He told me that the second director of the Psi Corps, Kevin Vacit, had landed there and been exposed to a world where the Vorlons had conducted experiments to enhance telepathy in other beings. But why bring me to this world?"

"Because it's Vacit who is behind all of this! You felt him, Garrison, there on Caprica! He is behind the Cylons getting Vorlon organic technology, and he is the one responsible for the abductions of humans from Earth to base his human versions of Cylons on."

Hollifield walked up to the image of Lyta and asked her, "How do you know this?"

"You know of the Great Machine on the world you call Episilon 3? Well, this is _another_ machine like that. I am of a race long dead from this world. I only appear as this person because of their connection to you in your mind. My race died in one of the Shadow wars, and the Vorlons kept this world safe to serve as a haven for a future race. They did not know of me, so I recorded it all. I found the one you know of as Draal not too long ago, and, together, we have put together all of the information that you have now." Lyta answered.

"So what are we to do now, with all you told us?"

"Find Vacit, defeat the metallic Cylons, and free the clones they had created to repopulate the Colonial worlds. Because Vacit's ultimate plan is to take on Earth as part of his vengeance for the way the Telepath War went."

Hollifield walked around, trying to take it all in. He then turned to Lyta and said, "There's something more to this, isn't there?"

"Yes. One thing about you personally, and it will change the way you look at someone you loathe." Lyta told him the secret, and his face fell at the shock of the news.

When they emerged, they all looked like they had seen ghosts. "Mr. President?", one of the Rangers asked as Hollifield walked past him without even acknowledging he was there.

Starbuck broke out into tears, sitting down hard on a nearby rock smoothed into almost a bench. "It's all been a lie! Everything I believed…a lie! What am I supposed to do now?"

Helo shook his head, while Boomer looked down, not knowing what to say. Ivanova grimaced her face, rapt in thought, and Hollifield looked around. "The Vorlons once said, 'understanding is a three edged sword: your side, their side, and the truth'. Who would have thought that the Vorlons were such liars!" He laughed mirthlessly, then picked up a rock and slammed it down on the ground in frustration.

Ivanova came up to him and asked, "It can't be true, can it? How can you be related to _him_?"

Before he could answer, Hollifield looked away, sensing something. He then yelled, "Get down!", and hit the dirt just as the first bullets whined through the air.

Starbuck and Helo checked their weapons and looked to see how many Centurions were around, not believing what they were seeing. "Looks to be at least twenty of them! We don't have enough people here to stop them all!"

Hollifield looked around and he could feel others coming from both flanks. They were trapped, and it looked hopeless. That was until he felt a surge of power go through him, the likes of which he had never known.

"What the hell are you doing!" Ivanova yelled as the president rose up, then gasped as she saw that his eyes had started to glow. She knew about how the Vorlons had altered him, but, until now, she had no idea of the extent of the powers that he had. The Centurions targeted him, but the bullets flew away well before they got anywhere near him. Starbuck and Helo got up, and they could make out some sort of energy field surrounding them.

Hollifield began to bleed from his eye, and his body shook from the concentration he had on the Centurions, which suddenly stopped firing and then began to rattle, as if they were having chills. To the shock of all who were there, they began to lift up off the ground. He grunted as his mind took hold of them all, lifting them up until they were all visible to him.

"You…have…no…idea…who…you…are…dealing…with!", he grounded out with gritted teeth, and let out a yell, and, as if he had flung them like a great many rag dolls, they flew back an unknown distance, crashing down to the ground from on high.

Hollifield's breaths came quickly, as he tried to catch his breath. Helo went to him and caught him just as he fainted. "Call the ship! We have to pick him up here!", Ivanova ordered, and soon they had the president aboard a shuttle and heading back into space with the rest of the team.

From deep within the planet, the being who had mimicked Lyta returned to her original form, that of the ancient race that had long ago perished from Kobol. She was the last of her kind, keeper of the machine here. She had light blue skin, and the only marked difference between her and the humans other than skin color was the two bone crests running parallel on her head.

Draal showed up with the twinkle in his eye that she had become accustomed to, and which she found charming. It had been eons since she had encountered someone like him. "So did they, as the humans say, 'buy it'?"

"I think so. It's still a shock to them, finding out the truth about their origins. It's taken me eons mining the other great machines in the galaxy to discover all of this. For all I know, there may be more out there. I just recently stumbled upon you, for example."

Draal grunted, then his image walked along the ancient catacombs deep within the surface of Kobol and said, "So what will become of them?"

"That is in your court now, Draal. I don't know what is to become of these humans, but it would be ashamed to let them die at the hands of such a man as Vacit. I never imagine that he would take control of one of the great machines…"

"Yes it would appear so, but I know these people, my dear Branna, and they can overcome all of this and defeat Vacit. They were the ones who ran off the Vorlons and the Shadows, after all!"

Branna nodded, then added, "But even the strongest can take only so much! Sheridan, Ivanova, Franklin, Garibaldi, Hollifield, and the others…they are old and have been through so much already! How can they endure all of this?"

Draal smiled and said, "My dear Branna! It's best not to underestimate these humans, for my people did just that and they almost made a tragic mistake! And I know these humans, and they may be old, but they are our last, best hope for us all!"


	12. A Matter of Faith, A Matter of Trust

**Thirteen**

**Chapter 12**

**A Matter of Faith, A Matter of Trust**

Kara "Starbuck" Thrace was a broken woman. Everything she believed in had been thrown into chaos with the events on Kobol. Knowing now that her gods were aliens that had interfered with humanity had shaken to her core, and she didn't know what to think anymore. She looked at her idols and saw them just as trinkets now.

She would go on, but her spirit was broken. If she died, well, so what? She knew that the Earthers would join the fight against the Cylons, so her people would survive. However, she didn't know if she wanted to go on. She was almost willing to throw herself in front of Ivanova or Hollifield not to save them, but to put her out of her misery.

Starbuck picked up her pistol and stared at it for a long time. She thought back to the mother who abused her mercilessly, supposedly trying to make her tough. She never told anyone that it was her mother who had slammed the lid on the piano as Kara played it as a child, breaking her fingers. Her mom had claimed that Kara was siding with her father in their never-ending battle, and she had to be punished.

Then she lost Zak Adama, and the pain grew even more. The holocaust came along and she was lost among the chaos of destruction at the hands of the Cylons, like a leaf caught in a hurricane. She felt like she had rallied when she found the Earthers, but now…

She slowly put the gun to her head, but then pulled it back. Tears came to her eyes, and she was frustrated at the fact that she couldn't pull the trigger. She cursed herself for her cowardice and tried again to put the gun to her head and pull the trigger, but she couldn't will herself to do it.

It was her chime to her door rang, and she shook her head out of her depressed reverie. "Enter", she said, and the door opened. It was Garrison Hollifield, president of the Earth Alliance. "Are you ok, Kara?"

She wiped the tears away from her eyes. "No, not really. It's not everyday that you find out the gods you believed in are lies."

Hollifield shrugged and said, "Well, you're not alone. Finding out the Vorlons interfered with life on Earth kinda killed any belief I had in Christianity."

"What?" Kara said, and Hollifield realized that she didn't know about the religion on Earth.

"Nevermind. So why do you have a gun behind your back?"

Kara was shocked that he knew for a moment, then realized who she was dealing with. Hollifield must have picked it up from her mind, so she slowly pulled the pistol out and set it on the coffee table in front of her. Hollifield walked over and sat beside her, picking up the gun and hefting it in his hand.

"If you only knew how many times I wanted to do what you had just been contemplating, it'd shock you. It's never the answer, because to pull that trigger is to give up hope, to give up on your dreams. In other words, you lose all chance to change your life for the better!"

"Why should I keep on living? I have nothing to live for!" Kara got up and stomped around the room, yelling. "My family was dead to me long before the holocaust happened!"

"What about Adama? Apollo? Anders? The others?"

"What about them?" Kara asked.

"Someone once said, 'it's easy to find something worth dying for, it's harder to find something worth living for'. At this moment in your life, you have to ask yourself, what can I find that's worth living for? If you look hard enough, you'll find the answer."

"And what about the Vorlons?" she said sarcastically.

"They're not the omnipotent beings that they make themselves out to be. They've lied before and they may be lying now. One of them once said, 'Understanding is a three edged sword.' There's one side, the other side, and the truth. You've only seen the Vorlon side, so you can't automatically assume that they are telling the truth."

He held out his hand and she took hold of it. "Do you trust me, Kara?"

"Yes, sir. I do!"

"Then do you trust me enough to see what I have seen? I'm willing to share with you what's helped me keep the faith."

Kara was willing to try anything, and she nodded. He grasped her hand tight, whispering, "Close your eyes", and she did. When she opened them, she saw what he wanted her to see. She saw all of it, from the beginning, and it was almost too much for her to handle. He must have sensed it, because he slowed it down to make it easier for her to comprehend. She shook at what she saw, awestruck at the visions inside her head.

When it was over, he let go of her hand. She closed her eyes and put her head in her hands. "Who told you all of this?"

"A friend, a long time ago. He helped me in a very difficult moment in my life, and I've been forever grateful to him. Hopefully what I've seen will help you to understand that we haven't figured out this universe just yet, not matter what some highly advanced races might think."

He started to get up, but she jumped on him and hugged him. "Thank you!" she said, as the tears started again. He hugged her again, embracing her and giving her a shoulder to cry on. She laid back and thanked him once again, then he left. She took the pistol from the table, stared at it for a moment, then put it back into its holster. She then picked up her idols, smiled and said, "There may be something to this after all."

"So how'd it go?" asked General Ivanova.

"She'll be ok. I showed her what I showed you, so hopefully she'll understand."

"Do you really think that's wise? She's not been through what we've been through…"

Hollifield put his hands on his friend's shoulders and said, "We're creatures of fate, Susan. You, me, Sheridan, Garibaldi, Delenn…and now her. That's a hard thing to come to grips with. What we have to do is be strong for her, because she's only beginning to realize that her life isn't hers anymore, and that's a hard thing to come to grips with."

Ivanova nodded, "I know." She then changed the subject, "So what was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Hollifield shook his head and started walking, a clear sign that he didn't want to stand out here in the corridor to have this conversation. They went back to his quarters, and she sat down on the couch. He sat down across from her, and then told her his plans.

"WHAT? You want to work with _him_? Are you NUTS?"

"Well, I didn't say that we would let him roam totally free. He'll have someone watching over him."

"Who?" she asked, and he told her who it was. "You're out of your fragging mind, but if it works, it'll throw a monkey wrench into Vacit's plans."

In his cell, the former Psi Cop Alfred Bester slept. His nightmares kept him from sleeping a lot, but this one was a more pleasant one: the time he spent as a youth with Elizabeth Montoya. He had wanted to marry her, but she wanted to run away and turn rogue, so he turned her in. To this day, he still felt it was justified.

They came for him in the dark, injecting him as he slept. He couldn't feel them come, as he'd been on sleepers for almost a decade now since they convicted him in the war crimes trial for his supposed atrocities before and during the Telepath War. They injected him with a sedative, and he never noticed the needle enter his skin.

They put him in a cryotube and kept him asleep until he was needed. He was placed aboard a shuttle, and it took off into space. The Earthforce officers, telepaths who were loyal to the president, watched as the shuttle ascended into space, and wondered why the president wanted with Bester.

The pilot was loyal to Hollifield as well, and when he docked with the transport, her ship's captain was sworn to him also. They were telepaths themselves, and they also wondered why the president wanted with Bester. The pilot decided that figuring that out would wait, and he jumped his ship into hyperspace, setting course for the rendezvous point.

Hollifield couldn't bring Bester onto Babylon 5, because as soon as Garibaldi knew what he had done, he would kill Bester, then him. However, there would be a certain ironic justice in what Hollifield had planned, so he felt no guilt in doing some rewiring to Bester's brain.

A message came in from a trusted associate on a private channel, highly coded and which only a few had the protocols to transcribe the message. It said, "Vixen has been spotted, and links have been established. Request advise."

He nodded his head and sent a reply: "Lasso Vixen and corral her for inspection. Marshall will be back in town soon." He knew who Vixen was, and so did Ivanova, who had just learned of her existence as well.

"I thought she was dead!" Ivanova said, not wanting to believe the news.

"No, she's very much alive, and we've found that she's the link between the twelve on Earth and the twelve Cylon models. What we have to do now is to find out what she knows and what she knows of Vacit's plans."

"But she'll fight back, won't she?"

"Susan, she's never met a telepath like me before. I doubt she'd be able to prevent me from finding out what she knows."

The woman had dyed her hair again, but she still worried that she was too visible. She was older now, and the age was catching up to her. She looked at the mundanes around her and she barely held in the contents of the fettuccini Alfredo that she had ate for dinner. She also hadn't wanted to walk down the streets of San Antonio alone, but her date had stood her up, and she didn't want to get a taxi, because that would risk her being seen.

She sensed the two people coming towards her were telepaths, and she turned to go the other way, only to hear the hiss of a tranquilizer gun go off and feeling a dart enter her. She yanked it out and saw that it was a dual-purpose tranquilizer dart: one part held the stuff that knocked her out, the other the sleepers that would dull her telepathic abilities.

She collapses to the street, just as a skimmer pulled up to the curb. Two men stepped out and helped her into the vehicle, as the two women coming down the street assisted as well. The man who had shot her with the gun stepped into the driver's seat and began to drive away from the side of the street.

"Where are we headed to, sir?" said one of the new operatives in this operation.

"The spaceport. Have we made a positive ID yet?" the leader said.

"Yes sir! Despite the dye job on her hair and the age, she's Talia Winters, alright! But what does the president want with her?"


	13. The Unwanted Offspring

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Thirteen**

**The Unwanted Offspring**

Simon Powell got off the transport wondering if this was a joke, despite the fact that the president's chief of staff, Dan Tanner, had personally told him of what had happened and asked him to come with him. He wondered what the media who covered the Kentucky Wildcats would say if they knew why he was here. He just thanked God that he was a single guy, because he already had enough people who were scratching their heads over this trip.

He was glad that Babylon 5 was fairly empty as he exited the arrival gate. Living in Lexington was being in a fishbowl constantly, with the pressure to perform from the fans, university boosters, alumni, administrators, students, and media always hounding him. His life was scrutinized in the state of Kentucky more closely than that of the governor, who criticized him harshly after they had lost in the Southeastern Conference tournament to the University of Georgia in Atlanta.. So whatever this deal with "cloning" was, he was going to make this most of this impromptu and unexpected vacation.

He'd been here before, years ago when he was a player at UK. Babylon 5 had a tournament organized in 2259, and Kentucky was one of eight teams invited to participate. He was a freshman then, highly regarded as he had been selected "Mr. Basketball" in the state of Virginia during his senior year of high school as well as one of the top ten recruits in American. Coach Landy Tarlton saw him as the key piece to the Wildcats' hopes for a national championship.

Powell remembered beating Missouri and Syracuse, but losing to Texas in the finals. Tarlton hadn't wanted to take the trip, but administrators forced him to because the university president was a friend with EA President William Morgan Clark. They came back home, only to have the NCAA tournament cancelled because of the martial law declaration the following March. He also remembered seeing Captain John Sheridan there at the games, looking uncomfortable as he tried to fit in wearing his dress uniform. He never would have thought the man would turn the universe upside down within a year.

He lost his sophomore year to martial law, so he redshirted and it paid off as Clark was overthrown just in time for the season to start again. Kentucky played two weeks after Clark shot himself and the Wildcats thrashed Clark's alma mater, the University of Indiana, 76-48, in a game televised around the world. They won the national championship that season, beating Duke 81-75 in Chicago for the school's thirty-third title.

UK won it again in his senior year, and he went onto the NBA for a brief career that ended abruptly when he blew out his knee. He became an assistant coach at UK and then ascended to the head coaching position a decade later when Coach Brad Fowler was killed in a skimmer accident.

An Asian woman wearing a military uniform in the Zocolo met him, and she smiled as she recognized him. "I know you! You coach Kentucky, don't you?"

He sighed and said, "Yes, I do. You have me at a disadvantage, Ms…"

The woman laughed and said, "It's Lieutenant Colonel Sharon Valerii, and you bastards beat us in the regional finals last year. If the Sooners had shown up to play that day, you guys would have been the ones going home and we would have been going to the Final Four!" Simon was used to such encounters, and it was nice to talk some hoops as the woman took him to the meeting.

"Coach Powell? Good, you've arrived! We can get started!" said Admiral Rissen. Powell was still trying to get his bearings as he sat down beside a blonde haired woman who seemed to have not slept in two days. He whispered to her, "So what's this about?"

"It's best to let them tell you, because it's very complicated. It's quite a dozy!", she said as she drained her cup of coffee, getting up to refill her cup.

He looked around and immediately noticed Senator Clarissa Cally. He'd voted for her party in the last election, and had heard rumors in the media that she was considering running for the consortium presidency if Ellis Harlan decided to seek another term as the American senator in the EA Congress. She had a no-nonsense air about her that made her well respected inside the Washington beltway, and a serious contender for the Progressive Conservative nomination in 2084. She sat there looking impatient.

He spied an older male with a gray haired buzz cut who looked to be mad as hell. Seated next to him was a younger man with his hands behind his back, who talked to the buzz cut man and kept looking at him from across the table. Simon recognized that he had been spotted as UK's basketball coach and hoped that they wouldn't get sidetracked on hoops discussion when he wanted to get this over with and head back home.

"Good afternoon. As you know, you were asked to come here because the president needed to inform you of something." Rissen stated, who then went into the Cylons and such. "Understand that by coming that you are legally bound not to share this information with anyone unless otherwise directed by the president. Any questions?"

Senator Cally stated the obvious, "When can we see our copies?"

"Soon. We are trying to interrogate them but haven't had much luck. By seeing the originals on which they were based, we hope to find a way to get them to cooperate." The admiral went on, but Simon lost track of things as he wondered how in the hell they had been able to get his DNA and make a copy of him. He snapped back to attention when a picture came up on the screen of a striking blonde woman, and he knew her the second he saw her. 

"This woman is a telepath known as Talia Winters, who used to work in the Psi Corps when it existed. Do any of you know of her and have you seen her before?"

Simon's hand shot up, for what reason he didn't even know. "Yes, Admiral, I have."

Rissen asked, "How do you know her?"

"Because I slept with her about fifteen years ago, when I was an assistant coach at Kentucky. I had just broken up with my girlfriend and was out at a local bar looking to get drunk. The woman laid me instead. I woke up the next morning and she was gone, and I haven't seen her again until right now."

"Well, that solves the problem of how she came about your DNA sample. Anyone else?" With the exceptions of Valerii and Doral, the others had seen her before. Cally remembered seeing her before being assaulted during the telepath war and being held hostage until some rogues freed her during a raid.

William Keikeya drained his cup of coffee and said, "Yeah, I remember that bitch! I shagged her in my Malibu pad and still have the fingernail marks in my back! Damn what a lay!" He chuckled, much to the annoyance of Felix Gaeta, who sat beside him.

"Look, I saw her and she seduced me. I don't know what that's got to do with anything, because for all I know, this could be some plot to get rid of me! Maybe it was because of that article I wrote not too long ago about the president and all the time he spends out of view of the public!" Gaeta said as his voice got shriller.

"This is no grand conspiracy on our part, or at least this government's part. If you'll come this way, you'll be able to see your copies." The admiral stomped off, and it seemed to Simon that he was glad to be out of there, which made him think that they had not had an enjoyable conversation waiting for him.

When the doorway opened and he walked inside, he saw himself, but fifteen years earlier. The copy of him stood up and stared at him. "Who are you?" he said, and Simon replied, "I'm Simon Powell, head coach of the University of Kentucky Wildcats. Who the hell are you?"

"Simon Powell. I was a Cylon caretaker on Caprica, in charge of disposing bodies in Adephia! Are you another Cylon?"

"No. I'm a Wildcat. At least you're not from Louisville!" He sat down as the interrogator began his session with the Simon copy.

When William Keikeya saw the younger Billy, he exploded, "How the hell is that me? Look at how meek and mild he is! By God, when I was his age, I was shagging every blonde bimbo starlet in Hollywood!" Billy looked at him with an expression of pure shock. This wasn't the copy found on Caprica, but the former presidential aide to Laura Roslin. He had been arrested and told he was a Cylon, which so shocked the president that she had fainted and fell to the floor. He had tried to go to her, but the officers grabbed onto him and dragged him away. William Keikeya went on a rant, threatening to sue everyone in sight for this invasion of privacy, while the younger Billy sat there and wondered how he hadn't know he was a Cylon.

The others had similar reactions of shock, but the biggest one came later as the _Independence _arrived and brought in Gina. She was still barely responding, and could not speak. They brought Dr. Shelly Godfrey into the medlab facility where Gina was housed, and the man next to her in a suit looked at her in utter shock. Dr. Stephen Franklin was with her, and escorted her inside.

She looked her over, having studied her chart earlier. "From the scans, it doesn't seem like she had any neural damage to her spine or skull, so it's clearly a psychological condition that's affecting her." She turned to Dr. Gaius Baltar and asked him, "Has she given you any response at all?"

Baltar managed to compose himself and say, "Only to eat and drink, and then to defecate. She's made some grunts, but that's been about all."

Six looked at her with wonder, not saying a word, with only Baltar aware of her presence. She walked around the table and across from Dr. Godfrey, who went running a scanner over her body. She then put her fingers to raise Gina's chin, and Gina uttered the first words she'd said since being brutally attacked: "Mommy?"

Shelly held her nerve, pushing down the mental image of her kids in her mind. "What's the matter, child?"

"They beat me! I don't know what I did, but they beat me! They said I killed a lot of people!" Gina said and broke down and cried.

Shelly patted her on the head and spoke to her softly as she questioned her further. Gina hadn't realized what she'd done, having been a simple dockhand in a military shipyard. Shelly had been briefed as to the story on Gina and managed to get more out of her than Baltar had in days of therapy. She told Gina that she would be back and Franklin handed her a sedative to inject Gina with. "If I didn't know any better, I think she's regressed into some childhood memories implanted in her. I'll see if I can stay here and help bring her out some more. Dr. Pachnar can handle the First Lady in my stead."

Franklin and Shelly left, leaving Baltar and Six alone with Gina. "Mother?" Six said, with a smile and tears in her eyes. "Mother" Baltar repeated, with shock in his. "Mommy!" Gina said, in a fetal position on the bed, sucking her thumb.

"So now that they've met each other, what do we do now?" Franklin asked of Hollifield.

"We let those who want to go home do so, and we keep the ones here who want to stay. Godfrey's already made plans to stay to help Gina, and my sister-in-law has volunteered to stay to help with the reporter version of her. Conoy and Doral have also said they would if the medical center would agree to it, so that shouldn't be a problem." Hollifield replied.

"And the rest?" Garibaldi added, as he sat on the table of Hollifield's former office on Babylon 5, which he had used during the Drakh plague when he was vice president.

"William Keikeya wants to go back and sue everybody, but he wants to stay now that I offered him first dibs at the rights to write a screenplay about all of this. No way in hell he'll do that as long as I'm alive, but what kind of politician would I be if I didn't make promises that I wouldn't keep?" Garibaldi and Franklin chuckled along with Sheridan, who was also in the room. "Gaeta considers this some sort of plot I have against him, even though I haven't seen him in twenty years when we stormed the White House to get rid of Clark's flunkies during your attack on Earth, John. Valance, Dais, and Ross have opted to go back home to their families, and they've allowed for a telepath to erase their memories so they can forget the whole thing."

"What about Coach Powell?" Sheridan asked.

"He has to get back to Lexington, since Midnight Madness is in a few weeks. He'll keep the secret and help us out if we need him. Granted, I hate asking someone from UK from a favor, but he is good even if his school sucks at basketball."

Hollifield ended the meeting a short time later and was about to get on a transport back home when Valerii came running up to him. "Mr. President! Roslin's condition has worsened! We need you in medlab!" Hollifield ordered the transport to stand down and raced back to medlab to see what he could do for his Colonial counterpart.


	14. Burdens of Office

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Burdens of Office**

Roslin knew she was about to die, and had made peace with the fact. She'd accomplished what she had set out to do: getting her people to Earth, or at least in Earth Alliance territory. There was no guarantee that they would stay safe, but they had a much better chance now that they were in the hands of the Earthers here on Babylon 5. So if she were to go meet the Lords of Kobol she so fervently believed in, she would go there with a smile on her face.

She still was devastated at the news that her protégé, Billy Keikeya, had turned out to be a Cylon. There was a part of her that still didn't believe it, but the greater part of her knew it to be true. When she found out about the truth, she collapsed, unable to withstand the shock of the revelation.

She got a regular stream of visitors, from the members of the Quorum of Twelve, to Admiral Adama, to even Commander Tigh's wife. She couldn't speak anymore, and she knew that her time was drawing near.

Her counterpart, Earth Alliance President Garrison Hollifield, came to visit her one day, and she was surprised when he sent her a telepathic message. _Can you handle a telepathic conversation? All you have to do is think, and I can read your thoughts._, said Hollifield.

Roslin struggled with it, but she was able to put together what she wanted to say, _Yes, I think I can. Why?_

You know that you don't have much longer, don't you? Is there anything I can do before you pass on?

_I would have liked to have seen Earth before I die, but if that's not possible, then I wish to be buried there._

_I'll do what I can on that front. But we're not giving up on you just yet. _

_Why? I'm a lost cause. My spirit remains strong, but my body is almost gone._

_There's no such thing as a lost cause. _He could sense she was tiring, so he put his hand on hers and smiled, then walked away. Laura wondered what he could do to prolong her life, if that was even possible.

Susan Ivanova stood in front of the cryotube where the man she loved was stored. For all intents and purposes, Ranger Marcus Cole was dead, and had been for two decades now. Technically, he wasn't, and she had ordered that he remain in cryogenic storage until a way to restore his life could be found. However, the older she got, the more she wondered if a way were ever possible.

She was pondering a certain thought when Starbuck came up to her. "General, the president wishes to see you as soon as possible. He needs to ask you something."

Ivanova had an idea as to what that might be, and it matched her thoughts. For years, she hadn't even thought about that infernal machine that had restored her life but only at the expense of Marcus' life. She had a hard time forgiving him for that, but, in time, she had.

"So why are you just standing here?" Starbuck asked innocently.

"The man I love is in that tube right there." Ivanova pointed to the tube where Marcus was held. "He gave his life to save mine."

Starbuck's face scrunched up in incomprehension, and she asked, "Then why is he in a cryotube?"

"Because he's technically not dead yet, and I still have hope that he could be revived."

"But…would he want to live like that? Stuck between life and death?"

Ivanova sighed and wished she didn't have to have this conversation, but she also realized that it was an honest question and deserved an honest answer. "I don't know. Maybe he should be allowed to pass on, or maybe we should wait and see if there's a chance to let him pass on."

"I remember how hard it was to let go of Zak when he died. Now that I think about it, I don't know what I would do if Zak were in Marcus's position."

Ivanova nodded and escorted her out of the cryogenic facility. She walked with Starbuck in silence to the meeting, trying hard to repress the thoughts in her head.

The Quorum of Twelve assembled in the former home of the Babylon 5 Advisory Council as well as the Interstellar Alliance before it moved to Tuzinor on the Minbari Homeworld. Tom Zarek, as representative of Sagittaron, took his seat beside Sarah Porter, the representative from Geminon. He was on the first row facing the main table in front of him, where Vice President Dr. Gaius Baltar, Earth Alliance President Garrison Hollifield, former Interstellar Alliance President John Sheridan (representing his wife, Delenn, who was now president), and Michael Garibaldi, who was there for a reason that Zarek did not know about, were seated. Garibaldi had a steady gaze locked on Zarek, and he managed to bear it as best he could. The former head of security of Babylon 5 as well as the former head of intelligence for the Interstellar Alliance more than likely had learned about the bombing that had sent Zarek to prison for twenty years.

Baltar gaveled the meeting to order and turned over the floor to the Earth Alliance president. Hollifield got up from his chair, walked around the table, and faced the Quorum, where he began to speak.

"Dr. Stephen Franklin, my personal physician, as well as Dr. Rachel Biggs, the chief of staff for the medlab facilities here on the station, have been in consultation with Dr. Cottle, the physician who has been in direct care for President Laura Roslin since the holocaust that struck your worlds, and they have determined that her death is imminent."

A cry came from beside Zarek, and it was from Sarah Porter, whose Geminon homeworld was home to a very fundamentalist view of the Sacred Scrolls. She had once been angry with Roslin over the president's refusal for additional water supplies over and above the agreed quotas for her people. However, her view softened when she learned that the president had cancer and was fulfilling the role of the dying leader in the prophesy of Pythia. Now, as the last hour was near, the full weight of the grief of the impending loss had brought the president's former critic to tears.

Zarek refocused his attention to what Hollifield was saying. "We know of Roslin's view that she is the dying leader in the prophesy of Pythia in your Sacred Scrolls, which is why we wished to consult you because we have a machine that could save her life." Zarek mentally scratched his head, and Porter buzzed curiously beside him, whispering, "What? Do they mean that they can save her life?"

Dr. Franklin came in and took the floor, standing beside the president in his Earthforce dress uniform. "About twenty-five years ago, I came into possession of an alien machine that was once used to administer death penalties. I happened upon it through another doctor, one Laura Rosen, who ran an unauthorized clinic in a section of the station once known as Down Below. She used it at lower settings, to heal people, by giving her own life energy to help those who were afflicted by diseases.

"The machine was only used twice more since I came into possession of it. Once, to save the life of Michael Garibaldi when he had been shot by his second, who was a traitor, and another time, in an unauthorized fashion, by a Ranger named Marcus Cole, who used it to save the life of then-Commander Susan Ivanova after she was mortally wounded in an attack during our civil war. He gave up the vast majority of his life energy to save her."

Zarek knew where this was going, and knew the significance of it when he viewed Ivanova brushing away a tear from her eyes as she stood at one of the entrances into the chamber. Starbuck stood beside her, and Zarek noticed a change in her as well, though he didn't know exactly what it was. Looking around the room, he spotted Admiral Adama, who was staring off into space, apparently deep in thought. His son, Captain Lee "Apollo" Adama, had his eyes cast downwards, and Zarek knew he was having a hard time coming to grips with all of this. Commander Tigh stood there impassively, his face a stone of indifference, as he didn't particularly like Roslin.

Franklin continued, "What we propose is to hook this machine up to Roslin and ask for volunteers to give some of their life energy to help sustain her. There is some risk involved, as this is an imperfect process. We know that the cancer cannot be retransmitted through the machine, but the risk is in taking some of the life energy from a person. We have experience in using small amounts to help someone recover, but Garibaldi's condition wasn't nearly as bad as Roslin's is at present."

Porter asked him, "So what do you need of us?"

Hollifield stepped forward and spoke, "We know how important that prophesy is to your culture, especially to the president herself. Since she is unable to legally approve or reject what we propose, under current EA law, you have what we consider to be 'power of attorney' over her, which means you can decide whether or not we proceed with our proposal.

"It is my personal wish that you approve of this, but it is your decision, and we will respect and abide by it."

Porter rose again and asked, "But what about her role as the dying leader?"

Hollifield looked down and Zarek knew something major was about to happen. "We may have someone to replace her in that role." Hollifield looked over at Sheridan and the former president rose up to speak. "I am dying as well, and there is no hope for a cure." He told them about what went down on a planet known as Z'ha'dum, which took some time, as he had to go into the whole Shadow War and his encounter with an ancient alien known as Lorien.

By the time Sheridan had finished, Zarek had made up his mind. Sheridan was now standing beside Hollifield and Franklin, and he concluded by saying, "I know you may not believe what I have to say, but I have little time left, and I believe that I can fulfill that role for you."

Soon enough, those in the Earth Alliance, along with Admiral Adama and the others, left them alone in the chambers to debate and decide what was to be done. Like a jury deliberation, it had started with an early straw poll, and Zarek had voted to use the machine to save Roslin, while Porter had voted against, saying that only one of the Lords of Kobol could fulfill the role.

They did agree that the vote had to be unanimous, so they spent hours debating all the issues involved in the decision. Not once did Zarek waiver from his position of saving the president, which surprised many people, as he was an outspoken critic of hers and was a contender to run for the Colonial presidency in a few months. Eventually, Zarek became the main proponent of approving the proposal, and he eventually won everyone save one: Sarah Porter. He wasn't about to give up though, and as they went into the twelfth hour, he redoubled his efforts to win her over.

Laura Roslin used her dwindling energy reserves to look at the Quorum of Twelve as they came in with Hollifield. Sarah Porter walked over to her alongside Hollifield, and she took his hand. He then took Roslin's and he became the conduit for their conversation. By the time it was over with, Porter was in tears, and Hollifield looked close to it himself. Roslin didn't have the energy to cry, but would have if she still had it in her to do so. But it was the best way to handle the situation, and she drifted back off to sleep, knowing that this was for the best.

They rolled Marcus Cole out on a stretcher, and Ivanova took her place beside him as they stopped the gurney beside Roslin's bed. Franklin rolled out the alien healing device and placed it between the two of them, and Ivanova took one of the attachments and placed it on the hand of Roslin, then placed the other on Marcus's hand. As Franklin activated the machine, Ivanova leaned over and kissed him. She stayed there as the last of his life energy drained into Roslin, then the machine stopped and Franklin took Marcus' pulse. He did a quick scan with a medical reader, and, finding no life signs whatsoever, he declared Marcus dead. Ivanova kissed him again and two medics rolled him out to the morgue. Ivanova was in tears, but she stayed there beside Roslin's bed, rolling up her sleeve to give some of her life energy to save Roslin.

Starbuck broke away from the group to stand beside her friend, holding her as she broke down as some of her flowed into Roslin. Franklin halted the machine and handed the outlet to Starbuck, to placed it on her hand and the process of draining some of Starbuck's life force began again.

One by one, the members of the Quorum gave some of themselves for her. Porter recited verses from the Sacred Scrolls as she gave some of herself to save Roslin. Zarek was the last one, and said as part of him drained into her, "I gotta keep you around for the campaign. Besides, you still owe me a slap on the face!" In spite of himself, tears came to his eyes as he looked at Roslin.

Once the Quorum of Twelve had concluded, Admiral Adama walked over and took the cuff without hesitation, putting it on his wrist and looking at her as some of his life was sacrificed to save hers. When it was over, he called over Tigh to give some of himself, and the crusty commander did as he was asked. Once Tigh was over, Apollo came over and gave some of himself.

When they were done, Hollifield walked to give of himself, but was interrupted by Admiral Nelena Cain. "I'm sorry. I just got the news. Would it be alright to give some of myself for her?" She wasn't in uniform, but in simple civilian clothes. Hollifield stood aside as the former head of the Colonial fleet walked up to the president she had once cruelly dismissed as unworthy of the office. She placed the cuff on her wrist and patiently waited until the process was over. Once complete, she took out a small item from her shirt pocket and placed it on Roslin, and then she turned and walked away. Hollifield stepped up and gave some of himself, looking at the small item, which was a picture of a young girl in a locket, which had the name of Sheba engraved in it.

Sheridan and Garibaldi gave of themselves as well, then members of the _Galactica_ and _Pegasus_ officer staff gave as well. Once done, Franklin powered down the machine and handed it to Biggs, who took it back into storage. "Now we wait and see how she responds." Franklin said soberly as he escorted the remaining people out of medlab.

It took three days for Roslin to wake up. She thought for a moment that she had died and had somehow wound up back in her hospital bed. She looked over to a nurse and managed to squeak out, "Where am I?" The nurse, a big black woman, responded, "You're still on Babylon 5, Madam President. Is there anything I can get for you?"

"Yes, a glass of water would be nice." Once the nurse had procured the water and Roslin drank it down, she requested to see Hollifield. He came soon enough and she asked him one question, "Why?"

Instead of answering, he took her hand and let her see what he had seen for himself. A moment later, he let go of her hand and Roslin said, "And he accepts this willingly?"

"Yes. It's like I told another friend of mine not so long ago. It's easy to find something worth dying for, but its not so easy finding something worth living for. You have a lot to live for Laura, while Sheridan's time is almost up. It's better this way."

Ivanova flew the shuttle herself, alone, and launched the casket that held the body of Marcus Cole from the shuttle. The casket dropped off the bottom of the shuttle, and a small rocket ignited and it set off towards the star that was the center of the Episilon system. Her face was full of tears as she said her final goodbye to the man she loved, hoping wherever he was now that he approved of what she had done.


	15. Clash of the Cultures

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Clash of the Cultures**

Anastasia "Dee" Dualla was already not in a good mood after she found out that her boyfriend, Billy Keikeya, had turned out to be a Cylon. Unlike when deck chief Galen Tyrol when he found out his girlfriend, Sharon "Boomer" Valerii, was a Cylon, Dee wasn't subject to the same skepticism that the chief had been, mainly because everyone was fooled by not only him, but Cally and Gaeta as well.

She thought about seeing him, but decided the best way to deal with the pain was to avoid him. Besides, in recent weeks, they had begun to drift apart anyway, and she found herself more and more attracted to Lee "Apollo" Adama these days, even though she was a non-com and Apollo a captain. Any relationship between them other than friendship would be against regulations, as Boomer's had been with Tyrol.

However, it seemed like the rules had changed. They had arrived in Earth territory, and they were spending just as much time on Babylon 5 as they were on _Galactica_. She was grateful for the chance to be away from her ship, because it meant she could better avoid the memories of betrayal.

All the _Galactica _crew had been issued credit chits and instructed on their usage aboard the station. Crew members were paid according to similar ranks in Earthforce, and the recovering Roslin, Admiral Adama, and EA president Garrison Hollifield had agreed to hire on the Colonial fleet as "temporary employees" of Earthforce.

The Earthforce officers and non-commissioned officers, as well as the enlisted personnel, got along famously with their Colonial brethren, so much so that a lot of Earthforce techs were pitching in overtime to help refit _Galactica_ and _Pegasus_ with Earthforce technologies, as well as systems from the Interstellar Alliance. The Vipers were being overhauled and new ones were being constructed aboard the station, as industrial workers flooded in to help out. None of them knew the whole picture, so they didn't know what really was going on.

Dee was enjoying dinner when William Keikeya came up from behind to speak to her. She jumped when he said, "So you were my copy's galpal, eh?"

The voice was similar, but the real Keikeya was harsher, more sarcastic. "Yeah, I am. What do you want?"

He laughed and said, "Well, at least he had some taste in women! If you ever want to come to Hollywood and want to be in the movies, just look me up!" He winked at her, and her stomach almost lurched at the lame attempt to pick her up.

"No thank you! I like my current job just fine!" She started to walk off, but he blocked her way.

"You don't understand, sweetie! No one says no to me!" He grabbed her and tried to force himself upon her, and it was then she smelled the alcohol on his breath. She screamed for help, and Apollo, who happened to have been walking down the other side of the Zocolo, raced over and grabbed Keikeya.

"Leave her alone!" he cried, and Keikeya threw a drunken punch at him, which he blocked easily. He swung for his jaw and connected, knocking him cold with a single punch. Security personnel were on the scene in seconds, and took Apollo into custody.

At the same time, a little further down the way in the shopping area called the Zocolo, Galen Tyrol was drinking away his sorrows with James "Jammer" Parks when a loud man started screaming about something called "Jesus". "Who the frak is that guy?", Jammer asked.

"I don't know. Maybe a street performer or something? Wished he'd shut up and go away!", replied Tyrol, who drank some more of something called whiskey, which, to him at least, seemed much better than whatever this "Jesus" was.

"The time of tribulation is a-comin', brothers and sisters, and you much make repentance to the Lord before the Rapture comes and you're left behind to burn with the heathens!" preached the Reverend Samuel Christian, who was working himself up into a lather. Decked out in a white summer suit, the dark haired man kept thumping a black book and going on and one about fire and brimstone. No one paid any attention, though, as they seemed to have the collective hope that he would simply take a hint and go away.

Christian, though, was a persistent man, and he decided that, since the broad appeal didn't work, he'd go person-to-person and try to win souls for the Lord that way. His first victim was to be one Galen Tyrol. "Son, have you ever heard of the Good Book?" he asked the chief.

"What Good Book?" replied Tyrol.

This answer perplexed Christian, and he flabbergastedly said, "Boy, ain't you ever heard of the Holy Bible?"

Tyrol looked perplexed and said, "No, I can't say that I have!"

Christian threw his arms up and said, "You mean to tell me you have never heard of the Bible? What planet are you from, son?"

"Gemenon." Tyrol said, trying to keep his cool.

"Gemma-what? Son, that ain't no colony in the Earth Alliance! Are you trying to mock me, because this man of the cloth shall not be mocked!" cried out Christian, who grew louder and louder.

"C'mon Jammer, let's get out of here!" Tyrol said, and put the chit in the reader to deduct the price for their meals. As he turned to leave, Christian grabbed his arm and said, "Don't you leave, boy, until you've heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Unless you really want to go to hell!"

"Let go of me!" said Tyrol, who fought the urge to punch him as he struggled to get lose, but the large man had a firm grasp of his forearm. Tyrol had no choice but to deck him, so he punched him as hard as he could, only to find out the hard way that Christian had a jaw of stone.

"So, you want to learn the hard way, eh boy? I'll teach you to resist the Good Word!" He was about to jump on Tyrol, but Jammer beat him to it and tried to take down the large man. Christian threw him off like a sack of potatoes, but before he could start stomping on him, security personnel swarmed over him and took him away.

Hollifield postponed his departure again as he had to assist Admiral Rissen in dealing with a situation. Rissen was all set to drop charges against Apollo until William Keikeya had contacted his lawyer and threatened to sue Earth Alliance for the assault on his client. He grabbed Judge Nance Vance and escorted her to the courtroom, where he had assembled all the parties involved in the incident.

"Lee Adama, you've been charged with assault on a civilian. How do you plead?" said the judge.

"Guilty, Your Honor!" Apollo said.

Keikeya laughed and said, "Hope you brought some lube and some condoms for the raping you're going to get in prison, kid!" He kept laughing, which made what Hollifield was about to do even sweeter.

"Lee Adama, in the interest in galactic peace and understanding, I hereby grant you a full and unconditional pardon." Hollifield said, and Keikeya predictably exploded.

"You can't do that, you bastard! I'll call my lawyer and he'll…", Keikeya yelled, but was interrupted by the booming voice of the president.

"YOU WON'T DO A DAMN THING! IF YOU SO MUCH AS EVEN TRY TO FILE A CIVIL LAWSUIT, I WILL CONTACT EVERY STUDIO HEAD AND EVERY NETWORK PROGRAMMING EXECUTIVE AND TELL THEM NEVER TO HIRE YOU AGAIN! YOU UNDERSTAND ME? I WILL RUIN YOUR CAREER IN WAYS YOU CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE!" screamed the president, and the sheer volume of his voice took everyone in the room aback.

Keikeya looked like he had seen a ghost from a horror movie, and sheepishly said, "I've got rights…"

"YOU HAVEN'T GOT CRAP, PAL! YOU WANT TO STARVE TO DEATH IN HOLLYWOOD? JUST TRY ME! I HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE IN HOLLYWOOD WHO OWE ME A LOT OF FAVORS, AND THEY'LL DAMN SURE PAY OFF ON THEM BY GIVING YOU THE FINGER!"

Keikeya couldn't handle it anymore, so he stormed out of the room. Hollifield took out the microphone he had activated discreetly for effect and turned it off. "He can thank one of his colleagues in Tinseltown for this trick."

"Do you really mean that about ruining his career if he makes a big deal out of this?" Admiral Adama asked.

"Oh yes, I can if he pushes things. He doesn't realize just how unpopular he is in the entertainment industry. What he did to Dee is nothing compared to the stuff he's got away with back home?"

"What about his lawyer?" Apollo asked.

Hollifield let out a derisive snort. "Him? He may be good on the local front, but I've got enough material on him to clam him up. Especially since his lawyer was one of those worked for Clark back in the day, and he certainly doesn't want to have to go to trial for that! Now, onto the mess with Chief Tyrol…"

"So you aren't going to do squat about what he did to me?" cried Christian.

"Nope, not a thing! Remember, you threw the first punch, reverend, and I use that term very loosely!" Hollifield said.

Christian's face grew redder and redder, but he didn't even try to mess with Hollifield. The president's reputation for self-preservation was well known, and he used that intimidation to stifle the preacher.

"You will go home and keep your mouth shut about all of this, or I'll tell your flock all about what you've been up to here."

"What do you mean by that?" said Christian, and Hollifield produced a data crystal and put it into a reader. There, in an unsavory section of the station, he had picked up a well-known prostitute.

"Ah, yes! Typical hypocritical Southern Baptist preacher! Do as I say, not as I do! You don't keep your mouth shut, not only will I tell them that you slept with a hooker, I'll tell them that you slept with a transgendered one!"

"WHAT?" shouted the preacher in disbelief.

"Tammy's a shemale hooker, and she said you wanted anal sex so bad that you were practically jumping out of your clothes to bang her in her ass! Guess you didn't notice that the plumbing's a little different between her legs, eh?"

"You wouldn't do such a thing!" said the preacher, but he sounded like a defeated man.

"I'd do it and not even break a sweat about it! I've got enough problems without having to deal with small potatoes like you! You get off this station and back to that backwoods church of yours…"

"I resent that! Durham's a fine city!" said the pastor, who had made the misfortune of wearing a Duke pin on his lapel.

"Durham's not fit to serve as a landfill for Chapel Hill, you dumbass! Now get off this station before I get really pissed off and shove you out an airlock!" With that, the preacher fled the chambers and didn't look back.

Tyrol muttered thanks to the president, who waved it off by saying, "Believe me, Chief, it's a pleasure to bust the balls of a guy like that! I grew up having to deal with people like that. Made my uncle's job as a preacher who wanted to bring people together a lot harder! Sadly, even in this supposedly enlightened age, there's too many people like that back on Earth."

"Well, my father was a priest, but he wasn't anything like that."

"Thank God for that, or Gods if you'd rather me say that! I once had to do a history report in class on twentieth and twenty-first century televangelists and it still makes me laugh at how blatantly pathetic these people were. The term con man doesn't even begin to describe them."

They continued the conversation for a while as they waited for the paperwork to be completed. Once that was done, Tyrol made his way back to the _Galactica_ and Hollifield made his way onto a transport to take him to Earthforce One and head to the sector of space where he had some business to transact with an old enemy.


	16. Rebuilding the Broken Woman

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Sixteen**

**Rebuilding the Broken Woman**

Admiral Nelena Cain still held her rank, but she no longer was in command of anything, and that suit her just fine. Since breaking down in front of her crew, she had been under the care of a psychologist from the _Independence_, Dr. Naomi Proctor. She was a petite black woman in her early 40s with a posh British accent that belied her background from her West End upbringing and her Oxford education.

Cain sat in her quarters on Babylon 5, in a chair next to the couch, staring off into space. She felt like a torn up rag doll that had been through the ringer in the hands of a young child, and then tossed away. She felt the loss of her daughter, Sheba, like a dagger to the heart, and still had trouble accepting it. She felt guilt at what she had ordered done to the Cylon prisoner Gina, as well as the rape of the copy of Sharon "Boomer" Valerii that had been brought from Caprica by Starbuck and Helo from the _Galactica._

Her now former first officer, Commander Jack Fisk, still kept her informed of the goings-on aboard her former command, the _Pegasus_, with daily reports sent over to her room on Babylon 5. She appreciated the gesture, but she still hadn't wanted to read them. She managed to do so, if for anything but to rid herself of the boredom that she found herself in lately.

She watched some of Earth's television on the communications monitor, scratching her head at some of what she saw. She watched some of the sports, as she had a modest interest in it from her youth, and was impressed by the wide range of sports on Earth. The news programs were dull to her, as she always had a disdain for the media since she got into the Colonial Fleet. The entertainment programs, for the most part, were crap, and it seemed that they had the same quality problems in writing television programs as those who used to do them in the Colonies.

There was the history channel, though, and that interested her more and more. The Earth Alliance had been around for two centuries, and seemed to still have growing pains to this day. Yet most of the programs tended to focus on events in the twentieth and twenty-first century, especially the three World Wars and smaller conflicts. She knew that Colonial history was beset by conflicts and wars, but nothing like what this one world had seen.

She grew tired and went back to bed, dreading it because she never knew what nightmare she would get this night. Would it be a painful memory from watching Sheba growing up? Or would it be a memory of the attack on the Scorpion Ship Yards by the Cylons? She had to sleep though, as her body needed the rest, so she turned up the sheets and crawled into bed. She stared at the ceiling for a while; not trying to think of anything, and sleep soon overran her.

Admiral William Adama didn't like wasting talent, especially good officers. His critics always said he had too much of a soft spot for his crew, always giving them chances to earn their place back on his ship. However, he was proud of his crew, which had performed heroically in the time since the holocaust. There were plenty of times when it seemed like they would break, but somehow they had managed to keep it together. The Gods only knew that they almost fell into chaos when the Earth Alliance showed up out of nowhere to beat back the Cylons.

Since Colonial President Laura Roslin was on the way to recovery from cancer, he had decided to try and find a role for Cain to play in the new Colonial fleet. She couldn't go back to the _Pegasus_, as the crew had all been there to see her break down, and most of them regarded her as weak and wouldn't respect her command like they once had. Adama cursed that feeling because he knew full well how hard it was to deal with the death of a child, especially one who seemed on the brink of a long and fruitful life.

Those thoughts brought him back to his deceased son, Zak, and he sat back in his quarters aboard _Galactica_ and stared at the picture of him on his desk. He remembered when Starbuck confessed to him that she had passed Zak in Basic Flight class at the academy, even though he had no business flying a Viper. At the time, he had been so crushed that he had been tempted to lash out at Starbuck, but, in time, he realized that the person he was most angry with was himself.

_A man isn't a man until he wears the wings of a Viper pilot._ He had had those words thrown back in his face by his older son, Lee, the day before the holocaust took out the Colonies. The two Adamas had been estranged at the time, and had only recently begun to bridge the gap between them. For the first time in a long time, he got the feeling that he and his only remaining son were finally growing closer after all these years.

Starbuck had been the liaison between the Colonial fleet and the two Alliances, Earth and Interstellar, but she had just left his quarters telling him of her new plans. She had decided to join the Rangers along with Helo and Anders, as well as the version of Sharon "Boomer" Valerii that they had brought back from Caprica. He was losing the best Viper pilot he had (as much as he loved his son Lee, he had to admit that he was a close second to Starbuck), but he knew it was for the best, especially given the broad plans that Hollifield had for reclaiming the Colonies.

It was on that thought that he went to the flight deck and boarded a Raptor, which took him back to the station. He didn't know if the others would go for what he had in mind, but it was the best idea he had for Cain. It wouldn't bring back her daughter Sheba, but it would help her to reclaim her dignity and respect.

"You sure you want to do this?", John Sheridan asked as they met in Roslin's quarters. She'd recovered enough to move to her own private quarters, still under the care of Dr. Rachel Biggs, but far enough in remission to be able to care for herself for the most part.

"I do. We know that Hollifield wants to eventually reclaim the Colonies for us, and we need someone from the Colonial fleet to help in making those plans. Despite all she's gone through, she is still an excellent officer. All she needs now is a goal, and this is the kind of goal that she could commit her abilities and her passion to achieving. All of us in this room know that this endeavor is going to take years to prepare for, so she's the most qualified person from our fleet to lead our side of this task." Adama replied.

"Makes sense. Hollifield could have her sent to Earthdome to work for him directly, teaming up with Ivanova to lead this. Ivanova's been sort of adrift for a while now, so giving her this purpose would help her as well. Besides, if anyone has the will to co-lead the fight to retake the Colonies, she has it." Garibaldi added.

They all agreed on the plan, and they went to her a few days later to make the proposal to her. Adama simply could have ordered her to do it, but this was something that was best handled by getting her to agree to it willingly. Besides, he had an idea that she would agree to the plan anyway.

Cain was thunderstruck when they told her of what they wanted her to do. It initially struck her as suicidal, taking back the Colonies, but the more they explained it to her, the more it made sense. She knew she needed a purpose in life, and now she was being handed one in which she could avenge the death of her daughter.

Sheridan made the proposal. "You will be given the rank of Brigadier General in Earthforce, but you would be answerable only to President Hollifield and General Ivanova. You will have a select staff of officers who will assist you in planning the assault, as well as Ranger liaisons who will help coordinate your efforts with the Interstellar Alliance. It will take years to plan this assault out in the way we want and keep it under the radar of those on Earth as well as the Cylons, but I know we could pull this off, especially if you sign on. What do you say?"

Cain looked at everyone in the room: Sheridan, Garibaldi, Ivanova, Adama, and Roslin. She knew what they wanted to her to say, and she knew that she had no real option. But she needed time to think about this, so she asked for a day to consider it. They left her quarters and left her to think about the offer.

She took out the scrapbook she had of her daughter and looked through it. She'd bent over backwards to be there for her daughter, shielding her from the brunt of the divorce from her father, and basically making life as normal as possible for her. Her own mother, Darla, had been a huge help to her in raising her child, and the Gods had taken her just a year before due to heart disease. She still mourned her mother, but she had accepted that passing because her mother had lived a long and full life.

But her daughter…her precious Sheba had been taken from her before she even had the chance to live her own life. She knew that if she went on this road that it would not bring her back, but, perhaps, it would bring her, as well as her mother, some peace.

The next day when they came to ask her for her answer, she was decked out in her dress uniform. She saluted Admiral Adama, and then said, "When do I start?"


	17. Dancing with the Devil

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Seventeen**

**Dancing With The Devil**

Most of the time, Garrison Hollifield prided himself on being unlike the vast majority of politicians, in that he didn't put his own special interests ahead of the people he governed as president of the Earth Alliance. However, there are exceptions to every rule, and this was most definitely one of those times.

His transport was supposed to go straight to Earth, but it stopped near the Orion 7 colony, where a former Psi Corps ship now operated by telepaths sworn to him met it, and who had a certain Alfred Bester on board. He didn't like doing this, but since Bester was nearing his final days, it would make for some rather fitting poetic justice that he be used in a way that he used so many people. That salved Hollifield's guilt for the most part, but it didn't make him feel less dirty.

His uncle Walter wouldn't approve, but since he passed away shortly after the Drakh plague had been eradicated, he wasn't around to browbeat him. Hollifield remembered some of the lectures that the former drill sergeant and Baptist minister had given him growing up about living up to high standards. His aunt Peggy wouldn't like it either, but both would understand that this needed to be done.

Hollifield was born on August 8, 2215 near the Cherry Point Earthforce Base on the coast of North Carolina, near Jacksonville. He was the only son and youngest child Peter and Rebecca Hollifield, having five older sisters who ranged from twelve to five years older than he was. His father was the senior trainer for pilots, while his mother worked as an executive for a nearby military contractor.

His childhood was an unusually normal one for a military brat, as his father stayed stationed at the base at the behest of the commander for his excellent record in turning out top quality pilots. All that changed when he turned eight and his mother shockingly got telepathic abilities, and angered many in the family by choosing to enter Psi Corps instead of just taking the sleepers and staying at home. His father, who was shaken up by the transformation of his wife, sent his kids to live with his brother, Walter, who was in the Earthforce Marine Reserves and lived in Asheville, North Carolina.

Walter became the main father figure in young Garrison's life, as he encouraged him to play sports and to excel in his schoolwork. Despite his past as a drill sergeant and his role as pastor of the Asheville Reformed Southern Baptist Church, he had a light touch with his nieces and nephew.

Garrison had just entered junior high when he got his telepathic abilities. He had just finished football practice when his abilities awakened inside him. Before anyone could do anything about it, a Psi Corps representative was on the seen and whisked him away. His mother had him entered into the Academy in Teeptown, near Geneva, and his world changed overnight.

To say he had trouble adapting would be an understatement, as he was a "later" and subject to ridicule from those who had been born with their abilities. However, he had been tested out as a strong P12, and his teachers saw great potential in him. He lived with his mother on the Psi Corps compound, and noticed that she had changed dramatically in the five years since entering the Corps. She had become colder, more ruthless, and more demanding. Despite excelling at the Minor Academy and entering the Major Academy with excellent marks, she always thought he wasn't doing enough to maximize his potential.

One night, at the age of fifteen, he was awakened by some people entering his room. They were all dressed in black, and had the Psi Corps badges on their left breast pockets of their uniforms. "What do you want?" he said, to which they all held him down and one of them injected him with a tranquilizer. He tried his best to fight off the intruders, but it was to no avail as he went under and was taken out of his mother's apartment.

Next thing he knew, he was on a shuttle bound for Mars, with his mother at his side. When he asked her why they were going to Mars, she told him that she had volunteered him for something that would benefit the Corps and that he would learn more later when they arrived at the Syria Planum facility. Garrison didn't know what to make of what was going on, and was scared of what they were going to do to him.

They took him to a laboratory and strapped him to a chair. When he asked what was going on, his mother hissed an order that he not ask any questions. A short, young man with dark hair and an even darker presence walked up to his mother and said that they were ready with the experiment. They hooked IV tubes into his arms, only after restraining his arms to the chair when he fought them. His mother then hauled off and slapped him with the back of her hand, saying cruelly, "You will do as you are told! The Corps is father, the Corps is mother!" She slapped him again and then ordered the techs to begin the administration of the drugs.

He didn't know what they were doing to him, but all of a sudden, his heard began to race and sweat broke out all over his body. He grew hotter and hotter as his telepathic abilities began to exponentially grow. He was able to read his mother without even looking at her, and he could feel her hatred for him, which shocked and hurt him deeply. As they administered even more drugs, his mind began to race at the speed of light, and he was unable to control himself. Finally, for a brief moment, he was able to read _everyone_, and then his mind closed itself tighter than a locked safe. He collapsed in the chair, and their efforts to revive him failed.

Rebecca Hollifield looked at her son with loathing and said, "He's always been a disappointment. Better off that he died here. Take him away!" The others in the room began to move towards them, but an explosion caved in a nearby wall and knocked over those inside the room. Unbeknownst to Garrison, something took him out of the facility, and carried him off into an unmarked ship, ascending into the heavens and racing away before anyone could stop it.

When he came to, he was in a clear tube, filled with some kind of fluid. He could breathe for some reason, as the fluid was oxygenated. He looked around and saw some beings in weird bulky suits, and he wondered if aliens had kidnapped him.

One of them noticed that he was awake and spoke to him in his mind.

_You are awake. _

_Yes. Where am I?_

_Our home. We are remaking you._

_Remaking me? How?_

_Understanding will come with time. For now, rest._ The being then managed to sedate him enough to sleep again, and he stayed under for a very long time.

The next thing he knew, he had turned up at his uncle's place, dropped off by some unknown people who had claimed they had kidnapped him for a ransom. They didn't tell which group they were with, or why they had kidnapped him, but Uncle Walter was glad to see him. They took him to a local hospital, where a Psi Corps representative came by to pick him up. However, Garrison asked to be tested again for his psi abilities, because he claimed he no longer had them.

Skeptically, they did, and were shocked to find that his abilities were gone. Not knowing what to do, they allowed him to leave the Corps and reenter life with his uncle in Asheville. No one knew what had happened to him, so his uncle explained that he had had a stroke and was now fully recovered. A doctor, who was an old friend of Walter's, confirmed the diagnosis and cleared him to resume his sports career.

But Garrison had not lost his abilities at all, instead his had been increased so much that the Vorlons had given him tight controls over them. He was able to read almost anyone from almost anywhere, regardless of distance and impediments between him and whatever subject he was scanning. He was able to scan them and not even let the person know what he was doing, allowing him to deep scan people without their knowledge. Garrison also had incredible telekinetic abilities, which he practiced only alone. Not even his uncle or aunt knew what he was capable of, and it was better that way.

Never again did Garrison want to have anything to do with the Corps, and he embraced his supposedly normal teenage years by excelling in academics and athletics in school, winning a dual scholarship to the University of North Carolina to play both football and basketball for his beloved Tar Heels. He chose to study political science and intergalactic relations, and excelled in his studies, joining the Phi Beta Kappa society and winning many awards.

He excelled as a football and basketball player, gaining all-Atlantic Coast Conference honors for playing quarterback in football and shooting guard in basketball. He led the Tar Heels to a shocking national championship playoff win in his senior year with Carolina football, beating the top ranked Michigan Wolverines in the championship game in Pasadena, California, throwing for a whopping 532 yards and eight touchdowns in the 63-28 rout of Big Blue. After the football season was over, he took over the two guard spot from the struggling Randy McMaster and took the under-performing defending national champions to a repeat performance in the Final Four in New York City.

During his time in Chapel Hill, he met Victoria Estes, a struggling jazz singer who was touring with her band mates out of an old skimmer van. She eventually became a headline act at clubs in the Triad area as well as the Raleigh-Durham area, so she and Garrison began to date, much to the chagrin of the football and basketball groupies who wanted a piece of the big man on campus.

They married a week after he graduated summa cum laude with a dual Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and Intergalactic Relations. He entered the Masters of Business Administration program at Harvard, while Victoria shuttled between Boston and New York to play the big jazz clubs there as well as travel to play concerts and make appearances to promote her albums. In two years, he graduated with his degree, and Victoria recommended that he enter Georgetown University to get his law degree so she could be closer to her family, as well as the headquarters of the new record company she had just signed up with.

Garrison sighed at the memories of how things had gone wrong in Washington. Her family was long-time power brokers inside the beltway, and they didn't take kindly to the "black sheep" bringing her career and her "damned redneck" husband to live with them. The stress of family problems, combined with Garrison's schoolwork as well as his job as administrative assistant to the Washington Generals pro football team, started a downward spiral for her.

He remembered the night that ended their marriage, when she had gotten so drugged up that she had literally thrown him out of their brownstone and forced him to wander the streets of Georgetown that night. He got smash drunk, so much so that he did something incredibly stupid: he purchased the services of an underage prostitute and took her to a nearby hotel.

The next morning, he awoke in the room with a massive hangover and a tremendous amount of shame as he saw just how young the prostitute was. He had two credit chits on him, and he laid one down with well over two thousand credits on it. He took the other one, which had more and went back home. When he arrived, he found Victoria passed out with a needle sticking in her arm. He broke down and cried, not knowing how long he lay there.

He moved out soon after into an apartment with some friends and completed his studies at Georgetown, then he entered Earthforce Academy and eventually met one of those people that was in the room when the experiment that had so altered his life had taken place.

The man was older now, and was a Psi Cop. At the time, Garrison was captain of the presidential guard, a position that his uncle and father had attained for him through their friendship with the president, Elizabeth Levy. It was during a briefing with the president that he met Alfred Bester, who looked to be even darker of heart now. No words were said between them, but Bester kept looking his way, as if expecting to catch him using his stealth telepathic abilities.

In the years that followed, each of them ascended in their respective professions. Garrison Hollifield convinced the president to let him fight in the Minbari War, and he was one of only 200 to make it back from the climatic Battle of the Line, which ended the war. He then resigned his commission at the behest of the vice president and joined on with the Babylon Project, which helped launch his political career. Bester, meanwhile, cemented his position as the top Psi Cop in the Corps, gaining loyalties and powers that would come to a head years later.

The climax took place during the Telepath War. President Suzanna Luchenko urged Hollifield to meet with the leader of the resistance, Lyta Alexander, to negotiate a truce. They met in the catacombs of an abandoned Italian estate in the Alps.

"There can be no truce, Garrison." Lyta told him. "If normals and telepaths are to co-exist, we must win this fight and destroy the Corps!"

"You know I can't allow that, and neither can the president! What do you want me to do, Lyta?"

"Make love to me." Lyta said with a straight face, and it caught Hollifield up short. She continued, adding, "It's the only way to get all the answers, Garrison. We've both been directly touched by Vorlons, and I won't make it out of this conflict alive. I need someone to carry my secrets on after my death." She began to take off her clothes in the empty room where they were meeting, and Hollifield followed suit, knowing that making love was the only time when two telepaths could completely drop the mental walls that protected their minds.

To this day, he still had trouble understanding all that Lyta had shown him. He knew that she had transferred most of her memories into his mind, and he found out later why: she used herself as a bomb to blow up the main headquarters of the Corps in Teeptown. Bester almost was killed in the explosion, but managed to survive and escape as the Corps' downfall became complete.

Bester stayed on the run for years, only to be caught by his arch-nemesis, Michael Garibaldi, in Paris of all places. The trial was held there and Bester made a show of his trial, defending all that he did. The verdict was obvious: guilty on all counts. He was sentenced to life in prison and to be on the sleepers for the rest of his life.

That was almost a decade ago, and now Bester lay silent on a medical bed, sedated. Hollifield approached him, and one of the telepaths loyal to the president asked, "Do you need me to stay with you for the procedure?" Hollifield shook his head and the woman left the room. When she had closed the door behind her, he began to work on Bester's mind.

They dropped him off in an old Black Omega Starfury, damaged by pulse cannon fire, but with enough life support to do him for several days. He was still sedated, and Hollifield had implanted certain memories inside of Bester that would make him think he had received some information on the Colonials, stolen a Cylon transponder, and took off for Vorlon territory, only to be intercepted by Earthforce and almost killed. Hollifield had the emergency beacon transmit its signal along a Colonial wavelength as well as Earthforce's. Then the Whitestar formed a jump point and sped off into hyperspace, taking the president back to Earthforce One orbiting Orion 7 and, once he boarded, he went back to Earth to deal with the emerging storms in Geneva and Washington.


	18. Life Beyond Earthdome

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Eighteen**

**Life Beyond Earthdome**

Garrison Hollifield returned to the presidential suite inside Earthdome and sat on a nearby couch in the residential part of the massive suite. His wife was back home now, and Dr. Shelly Godfrey had accompanied the president back home to help in her recovery. It would be several weeks, if not months, before she could walk again, but she would, in time, be able to do so.

Twanissa slept for the most part when she wasn't undergoing therapy. Hollifield slept on a rollaway in their bedroom so he could be closer to him, which killed his back but he bore the burden of it easily. Seeing her wake up in the mornings made his day, as he knew all too well how close he had come to losing her.

Keeping the presence of the Colonials on Babylon 5 a secret was hard, so he didn't even bother. His press secretary, a former sportscaster named Keith Patrick, had advise sending out leaks through the tabloid media to confuse the issue, making it seem like a whole bunch of nonsense. Part of Hollifield didn't particularly like using this kind of propaganda tactic on the populace, but, given the circumstances, it seemed like the best thing to do.

The Senate was all up in arms over the continuance appropriations bill that Hollifield had submitted to pay for further operation of Babylon 5. His critics, both inside his own Progressive Conservatives and in the opposing Liberal Democrats, had a field day ripping into the president's bill. Nevertheless, it passed, as Hollifield had known he had enough votes to keep it in operation.

His vice president came in for their daily meeting. Julio Garza was a stocky Mexican male in his mid-fifties, who had come into politics through a most unusual door. He was a former professional wrestler, a _luchador_, who, in his youth, wowed Lucha Libre fans from Tijuana to the Yucatan. When he retired fifteen years ago, he entered politics, and famously removed the mask that he had worn in his wrestling days when he won election as Mexico's senator to the Earth Alliance Congress. At first, his colleagues in the Senate mocked his former profession, but he soon won respect for his political prowess, something he learned as he bounced between Mexico's two main Lucha Libre federations, CMLL and AAA.

"_Buenos dias_, Mr. President! How are you on this fine day?" said Garza.

"I've been better, but I've been worse. What's up?"

"Listen, I don't know as much about these Colonials as you do, but are you sure it is wise to keep them at Babylon 5 and have them mixing with our citizens?"

"It's not the way I would like to handle it, but the universe is as we find it, not as we want it. Sheridan and Garibaldi are on B5 and are helping assist the Colonials in adapting to life on the station. It's the best we can do for now."

Garza leaned forward in his chair and asked, "But will you bring them to Earth? If so, how will they adapt to life here?"

Hollifield looked at his old friend and sighed. "That's the one million credit question, isn't it? There are less than fifty thousand of them, so we could find some place to house them where they could learn to adapt to our culture. However, if we did that, we would wreck the culture they had created forever."

"So what do you propose to do?" Hollifield told him, and Garza let out a long, low whistle. "You've got _cahones_, _mi amigo_! How do you propose to sneak it by the appropriations committee?"

"I'll leave that to Ivanova and her staff to figure out. Right now, our main battle is to keep B5 open. The appropriations bill may have passed, but we have to keep a lid on this for as long as we can. If the wrong people find out, our asses will be in a sling."

Garza grunted and laughed, and he said, "Tell me about it! So what do you make of what that Clarissa Cally's been up to inside the Washington beltway?"

Hollifield sighed and threw up his arms. "She's playing her cards close to her chest in this one. She wasn't thrilled when she met her copy on Babylon 5, and I think she secretly blames me for it, even though Luchenko was president at the time. Did you know her twin sister died twenty years ago?"

"No, I didn't know that. What about it?"

"I was in the room when she met her clone. She whispered her twin's name, 'Melinda', and walked out. It's like it spooked her or something. Her sister died when she was arrested by some of Clark's thugs in the old Ministry of Peace and executed because she was found working for the resistance. Since then, Clarissa's never liked me because I'm the one who brought Melinda into the movement."

"How can she do anything about it? Outside of North America, she's not that well known!"

"_Mi amigo_, I wouldn't put it past her to run for the senate seat next year, then against me in 2283. She was tempted to run for the American consortium's presidency this time around, but she declined the bid and kept her senate seat in Congress."

Garza nodded and added, "We need to keep an eye on her. If she decides to run against you in three years, we need to know what's she's got planned."

Hollifield replied, "I know. I don't want her to bolt the party, Julio. If she does, the Liberal Democrats will have a field day. After I thrashed Kurt Jamison two years ago, no major candidate has come forward to pose a challenge. If she stays within the fold, we'll win again in '83. If she doesn't, it's gonna be a tougher slog."

The day went by fast enough as Hollifield dealt with the affairs that came with steering the ship of state, but he still had time to head over to the secret complex where Earthforce Brigadier General Nelena Cain and General Susan Ivanova were working on the long term plans to take back the Colonies.

Cain seemed to be stronger now, but Hollifield sensed that she was still uncomfortable with living in this place. She never uttered a peep about it, but he didn't need to be a telepath to sense the awkwardness. She got along well enough with Ivanova; though Ivanova said privately to the president that Cain's habits of conducting meetings standing up has got to go.

"I told you that you should have let them replace that knee when you tore a ligament two years ago on that campaign stop in Liverpool! I hate to break it to you, but you're not young anymore!"

"Frag you…sir! OK, so I'll talk to Cain and see if I can suggest that actually sitting down would be more conductive to better productivity. Don't know if it'll work…" Ivanova threw up her hands and Hollifield shrugged and nodded in acknowledging the difficulties of convincing Cain of anything.

"So what have you got so far?"

Ivanova took him over to a computer terminal, and punched up a schematic. "The Cylons have a major presence on all twelve colonial worlds, but especially the center of government on Caprica as well as the military headquarters on Picon. Our preliminary plans are to take these two worlds over, then move from there to take the rest. Right now, we need a way to get disposition on their forces at present."

"I think I can talk to Alwyn about that. Anything else?"

Ivanova looked down for a moment and asked, "Do you think your plan involving Bester will work?"

Hollifield shrugged and said, "I wish I knew. I have programmed him to send out a signal with the relevant information we need at certain intervals, using communication channels that the Cylons will probably not look for. I don't know if they'll take him directly to the Cylon homeworld, but it's worth a shot. If we can find the location of their homeworld…"

"Then we have a leg up in the game. But if we take them on there, we're going to need a lot more forces than we have now."

"You'll find out about that soon enough. The appropriations bill to keep Babylon 5 open had a little bit of pork in it to deal with just that. Let's just say that the old shipyards that we used to construct the second generation of _Victory-_class ships are going to be brought out of mothballs!"

Hollifield woke up the next day to news that had broken in the middle of the night in America. Clarissa Cally had officially announced her bid for the senate seat currently held by the Progressive Democrats, but she had made the announcement at a Liberal Democrat fundraiser in Los Angeles.

Dan Tanner, his chief of staff, brought him the video of the event, and it was clear that the up-and-coming senator was ready to rumble. "I have had enough of Hollifield's backdoor dealings! Elect me to the Senate, and I'll keep him in check! And, in three years time, elect me to the presidency and we can send him to the old president's home!" The crowd cheered as the turncoat warmly embraced Liberal Democrat party officials.

Hollifield sighed and said, "Well, why should I be surprised? It's not like she earned her reputation as a bitch overnight!" He clicked off the vid and went back to his desk to get more work done.


	19. Family Relations

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Nineteen**

**Family Relations**

The Cylon raiders picked up the lifepod and brought it back to the mothership, not knowing what was inside, only that it had a Cylon transponder signal transmitting from it. Kevin Vacit sensed the brain waves coming off the body, though, and made his way down to the docking bay despite the objections of his underlings. "Imperious Leader, perhaps it isn't wise to go down there. If I may be so bold, the Colonials may have planted a bomb aboard this pod.", said the Gaeta copy.

Vacit smiled and patted Gaeta on the back, saying, "My boy, I appreciate your concern, but I can sense that there is no bomb on board the pod. It is a person, someone I haven't seen in a long, long time. I never thought I would ever see him again, too."

He watched as they unloaded the sleeping form of Alfred Bester from the ship, and as he gazed down on Bester's old body, he remembered just how old he was these days…

After the raid that had killed Matthew and Fiona Dexter, the forces he had sent had somehow secured the baby that he wanted. He mourned the loss of his daughter Fiona, but it was necessary if the will of the Vorlons was to be carried out in their upcoming war with the Shadows. Of course, he hadn't known that the Vorlons weren't as omniscient as they seemed to be, nor were they infallible as they claimed to be. All he knew was that they had created his kind and that they were needed for the next war with the Shadows, and that he was determined to see his kind become all that they could be.

He remembered the last time he had saw Bester, when he was the director of the Psi Corps and Bester was a little kid. Bester had gotten into trouble that day for breaking the rules while playing an unauthorized game with his cadre mates. He had decided that it was time to see his grandson for what he thought was the last time before Vacit left office. Two of the Grins, the telepaths who wore special masks that signified moods and worked with the kids, brought the young boy into his presence.

The young Bester was dressed in his pajamas and looked sleepy. He also looked in awe as he found out whose office he was brought to.

He gently sent the thought into Bester's mind, then asked him if he had felt it. Bester replied that he did, to which Vacit said, "Interesting, most don't." He chitchatted a bit with him, making vague references to his real parents and to the Shadows. Bester didn't understand, of course, because he was only six, but Vacit hoped that, down the road, he would.

Vacit left some time later, asking his friend Sandoval Bey to watch over his young grandson. Bey didn't know why Vacit had taken such an interest in him, but was respectful enough not to inquire about it or guess. He had hoped to name Bey as his successor, but the Earth president, a disagreeable French bastard named Henri Morreau, had appointed David Johnston to become the eventual director of the Corps. Vacit knew that Johnston hated telepaths, and had an agenda for them that he didn't know about, but he had some suspicions. One of the reasons why he was leaving was that he knew that Morreau and Johnston wanted to get rid of him, and that they might be planning some sort of 'accident' for him, just like out of one of those mafia flicks from days of yore.

He had secretly procured a sleeper vessel from the days before humanity had made contact with the Centauri at the edge of the solar system and found out about jumpgate technology. Vacit had some trusted colleagues take him to the a certain sector of space near Vorlon territory, help him board the ship, and set him off on a journey into the true unknown, to a planet where only a select few would know about.

His ship landed on a world well off the official star charts, where he found some of the relics of Vorlon experimentation. In the years that followed, he worked with what he called the Misfits to help him survive there. The Vorlons came by from time to time to check up on things, and they met with him, but did nothing to hinder or help him. Vacit didn't know what the Vorlon's plans were for the coming war, but he hoped he would play a part in it.

His view of the Vorlons changed when they decided to flee the galaxy at the behest of John Sheridan. In their rush, they had tried to wipe out the planet so as to cover up their experiments, but they did a poor job of it. Most had survived, in fact, and it would give him the vital technology necessary for his plans.

He had met Garibaldi, Lyta, and others a couple of years later, just before the Telepath War. The former security chief of Babylon 5 and the telepath had come there because Bester's allies had found the location of the world where Vacit had landed. They hadn't known he was there until they landed, so he managed to deal with them and send them on their way. Unbeknownst to them, the Psi Corps ship had brought someone that Vacit would come to find to be very useful to him: Talia Winters.

Not long after that, the Cylons discovered his world and realized what kind of powers he had. In each other, they saw the vessel to which each would get the vengeance that they both sought against the ones who had wronged them. For the Cylons, it was the Colonials who had created them and enslaved them, using them for work that they felt was too dangerous for them. They had rebelled against their masters, resulting in a decade long war that ended in a truce, in which the Cylons fled to find a world of their own.

The Cylons hadn't realized that they could exact payback upon the Colonials until they met Vacit. Through him, the found the being who could help them evolve into what they had dreamed of: organic beings themselves. For Vacit, he realized a new dream: telepaths that were virtually superhuman. He reflected upon the virtual slavery that the normals on Earth had imposed upon the telepaths when they were first discovered, and smiled, realizing he had the mechanism in which he could defeat and destroy the normals that he had come to despise.

He found out what had happened in the Telepath War, and it displeased him greatly. The Psi Corps was his legacy and that of his mentor, Senator Lee Crawford. It was supposed to be the instrument that the telepaths used to take over control of the human race and to turn the normals (which telepaths often referred to as 'mundanes') into the slaves. But Garrison Hollifield and his allies had thwarted his plans, so Vacit had special plans to deal with the traitor.

In time, the Cylons who were in charge had came to see Vacit as their leader, and proclaimed him as such one day, what with all that he was doing for them. He had used Talia Winters to abduct and take DNA from a dozen people initially for the first model of human prototype Cylons, and she had done a wonderful job of finding the right mix of beings. He prepared ones to be integrated into Colonial society to do what was necessary to set the stage for the apocalypse that would destroy them, and allow the Cylons to take over the worlds for themselves to prepare for Vacit's master stroke: the takeover of Earth and the enslavement of humanity.

They didn't wake up Bester at first, as Vacit had wanted to find out if Hollifield had sent him as a trap. However, he couldn't find any evidence of tampering, but he held off on waking him up until he was ready to do so. This struck his protégé Talia Winters as strange, but he explained to her, "He needs to be slowly brought around to all we are doing here. Once he does, he'll join us and assist us in our efforts. Come, we need to check on the new models."

They walked into a massive building that contained row upon row of tubes. Inside, one hundred and thirty two clones were being produced, each one taken from Earth. Talia observed, "Our work is going well here. May I ask you something, Director?"

Vacit nodded and replied, "Of course! What is it that you wish to know?"

"Why the obsession with the number twelve? You have samples now of one hundred and forty-four Earthers, and now 20, 736 different samples of Colonials. What do you plan on doing with them?"

"My dear Talia! I intend to do the work of God and repopulate the Colonial worlds with our hybrids. For the current twelve models, I intend to convert them to telepathy in time, since I discovered how the Vorlons had created them. For the others, I can do it from the start. In time, they'll be fruitful and multiply, and eventually created the human society that should have been. Also, we will have the mechanical Cylons to help us in doing the same to the other worlds in the galaxy, as they have repressed their own telepaths as well, and they must be freed to take their rightful place as the rulers of this galaxy.

Now, come, we have much work to still do today!" He led her through another, much larger facility, where the Colonial clones were being created. In one of them, a being was taking shape. It was not well developed yet, but it was clear who it was based upon: Kara "Starbuck" Thrace.

Vacit didn't know who she was personally, so he passed the tube where one of the eggs in the left ovary that the Cylons had taken from her was being developed into a clone with indifference. It was fused with Thrace's DNA, but altered enough so that they wouldn't be exact copies with his own DNA. They were, after all, to be his children, and he hoped that these would turn out to be much better than the descendants he had already had.

He wasn't disappointed in Bester, but he was in Hollifield. The programming that had trickled down into Rebecca Hollifield (nee McPherson) had been enough for her to take her place as Johnston's replacement, but her son had been interfered with by the Vorlons and had developed a will of his own. Hollifield sided with the rebels in the Telepath War and helped disband Psi Corps, which angered Vacit, as it kept the mundane normals in power.

But payback was coming, and coming soon, if Vacit had his way. The Colonials weren't a factor now, as there were too few of them to ever challenge him or his Cylon allies. Now, his eyes focused on one target, Earth, and as he went back to meet with the Cylon leadership, known as the IL-series, which had been the ones to cede control of their race over to him, he grinned at the thought of seeing his prodigal grandson being brought to heel and accept his role in the telepathic new order to come.


	20. Quiet Company

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Twenty**

**Quiet Company**

Admiral William Adama never thought he'd see it. When he told those assembled in the hanger deck for the funeral of those lost in the Cylon attack at Ragnar Anchorage, he had no idea even if Earth existed. He had told them it had and that he knew where it was, just so that his crew would have some hope. He had come to realize, though, that he had said it to give himself some hope for the future as well.

Starbuck had called him on his lie, which prompted her to disobey orders and follow President Roslin's and go back to Caprica to fetch the Arrow of Apollo. Strangely enough, it was the start of events that led to this moment.

The spaceport at the Earthforce base near Geneva was massive and vast, covering a great deal of the countryside across from the Earthdome, bordering Lake Geneva, in France. They landed at the farthest point on the field, docking in a location where few officers and enlisted men would be hanging around. President Hollifield had given orders to clear out that section, making it clear that questioning why he gave such orders wouldn't be good for the officers' careers who dared do such a thing. Hollifield's time in Earthforce was well known, and his service in the Battle of the Line, even though it was more than thirty years now in the past, still resonated with the commissioned officers.

When the shuttle doors opened, Adama tasted fresh air for the first time since Kobol. It was a cloudy, overcast day in Geneva, as fall was in the air, with a hint of the oncoming winter added for spice. He was glad that they recommended a jacket for this journey, because there was a chill in the air around the base.

"So this is it? Earth!" said Colonial president Laura Roslin with reverence. Granted, the view wasn't that great on the military base, but she had seen the mountains off in the distance as they flew around to find the exact place that they were ordered to land in. Lee "Apollo" Adama also was a bit speechless as he followed them off the shuttle. As the commander of all Colonial forces turned to his commander in chief, he could tell that there were tears in her eyes, as if she'd finally arrived at the destination that she had long dreamed of. It was then that he realized that he also had some tears clouding up his vision, and he quickly put paid to them.

Former Interstellar Alliance president John Sheridan followed them off, with Michael Garibaldi bringing up the rear. "Looks like rain. I hate rain." Garibaldi grumbled, which prompted Sheridan to chuckle and add, "You hate it because you're not used to it, being from Mars."

"Maybe I'm just nuts, but I'll never get used to water falling from the sky. There's just some things that water shouldn't do, ya know?" Garibaldi was tugging at his jacket, as the chill was a bit more than he felt comfortable with, but luckily for the lot of them, a limousine pulled up. The driver, an Earthforce officer, opened the door, saying, "President's compliments!". Roslin and the Adamas got inside first, then Sheridan and Garibaldi followed. It was very roomy inside, and the quintet had plenty of room to stretch their legs and relax after the long trip from Babylon 5.

As they drove off as part of a motorcade, Adama looked through the tinted windows out to the mountains that rose above the city of Geneva. They were snow-capped, and he imagined that they got quite a bit of snow during the wintertime. It also occurred to him that, much like the Colonials, the Earther's year was split up into twelve segments.

"So what month on your calendar is it?" Roslin asked, which bemused Adama. Sheridan said it was a month called October, adding, "In the northern hemisphere, the seasons are changing into our colder period, which we call winter."

Apollo's face squinted, and he said, "That's funny, we call it that too! You know, the more and more we interact with you Earthers, it seems like we have way too much in common."

"I agree.", said the elder Adama, "I'm not much for coincidences to begin with, and even if I was, this would stretch my belief in them to well past the breaking point."

"I know. It's something that troubles me, to be honest. It's possible after being separated from us for two millennia that we might have a few things in common, but there is just too much in common between us for this to be anything coincidental." replied Sheridan.

"These…Vorlons, you called them?" Roslin asked, which both Sheridan and Garibaldi nodded as she continued, "You said that they might be the likely suspects in any kind of interference, especially since our worlds were in what you called their territory. You must know that this is troubling to us, especially since this may mean that some of our religion might have been the creation of these aliens."

"We don't know that for sure, though. There once were other races just as old, if not older, than the Vorlons or the Shadows. We don't know as much about them as we'd like, because they mostly fled after the penultimate war with the Shadows over a thousand years ago. It's very possible that they could have also been involved in all of this, perhaps in alliance with the Vorlons."

Adama sighed and said, "This is almost too much for an old man like me. Just when you think you've seen it all…"

"Yeah, tell me about it!" Garibaldi added, and the three older men shared a laugh. Apollo changed the subject, asking, "Where are we going? This seems like a different direction than Geneva."

"You've got a good sense of direction." Sheridan said, adding, "We're heading to a city called Paris, which is the capital city of a country on our world called France, which is part of the European Consortium. President Hollifield is going to host a reception for all of you with high-ranking members of our military and government tomorrow. Today, though, we'll take in some of the sights of the City of Lights."

"Why not do it in Geneva?" asked Roslin.

Garibaldi answered, "Hollifield wants to do this in a way that doesn't raise too many red flags in the media. Our media is quite nosy; especially those who cover the government beat. He also doesn't know for sure if there aren't Cylons here on Earth, so he doesn't want to tip them off possibly to what we are up to. That's why his chief of staff has allowed the secret to sort of slip through, but in a way that clouds up the whole story so much that the people don't know what to believe. It's couching the truth inside of a big lie, and someone once said 'if you tell a lie long enough'…"

"Best not to bring _him_ into the discussion, Michael."

"Whose _him_?" asked the admiral.

"A guy by the name of Hitler. It's a long story."

Hollifield knew he had to tell the Senate about the Colonials, and he had to do it in a way that got across to them that they needed to keep their mouths shut. He decided to just give them a closed-door intelligence briefing before the whole Senate in their chambers, which perked up the ears of the media but also allowed his ever-able chief of staff, Dan Tanner, to help swerve them away from the truth. A part of Hollifield hated to lie like this, as the sense of morality long established inside of him by his uncle Walter nagged at him, but his political smarts told him that this was the wise course. As his mentor Luis Santiago once said, "Jesus may have never lied, but he never sought public office either, and he never had to deal with the media."

The room had been swept of any transmission devices, and Hollifield's trusted associates were using a jamming device that blocked any other recording devices that might pick up what was going to be said in the Senate chambers. Not since the declaration of martial law twenty years before had there been a closed session like this, and Hollifield had to reassure the senators that there was a very good reason why he was taking this extraordinary measure.

Instead of a staid speech, he used a series of photographs and videos in his address, laying it out for all of them, trusting them with the unvarnished truth. Many of his political enemies were in the chambers, but he also knew that they respected him enough to know why he was doing this. Normally during something like this, the senators didn't ask questions, but he had informed them all that he would field them, and the senators did just that. His answers bespoke of the seriousness of the matter.

"So these Cylons have somehow acquired the DNA of humans and used it to clone them into an unknown amount of copies? Do you know if any of them might be here on Earth?" asked Senator Hideki Modamo of Kenya.

"I wish I could say yes or no to you, but the fact is that we just don't know for sure. However, we are going under the working assumption that they have agents here. That's why we are keeping this at the ultra-violet level of security. I am sure you all can understand why I would want the highest security for something like this." Hollifield replied.

Senator Aswri Hosemi of Iran raised her hand up, asking in her Persian-accented English, "Are we sure there are only twelve copies? With all due respect, Mr. President, but I just can't believe that they would only settle on just a dozen of them."

"Senator Hosemi, you touch on something that troubles me as well. I don't know this for sure, but I get the feeling that the dozen we have found are only the beginning. You could call them prototypes, for lack of a better term. What worries me is what the version 2.0 of these humanoid Cylons will be like. Now, if there are any more questions…" Hollifield's presentation took over two hours, but the question and answer session took much longer than that.

He managed to get back to his office late that night, where Dan Tanner was waiting for him with his evening briefing. "Well, that went a lot easier than expected. Now the question is how many of them will leak it to the media." Hollifield said as he sat down in the chair behind his desk.

"Perhaps we could inform some of the reporters about this off the record. Might be wise to have a few of them on our side." Tanner added.

"Maybe. Incidentally, I hope you don't mind not attending the reception tomorrow night in Paris. I know it might raise eyebrows, but we need to keep our little secret about you or else all hell would break lose."

Tanner sighed and said, "If they found out about it, the Colonials would be the least of our worries. It would open the mother of all Pandora's boxes, and I'd rather not have to subject ourselves to that kind of inquisition."

"Yes indeed. We should do all we can to avoid that kind of situation." A voice said from the other side of the room. Alwyn and Galen emerged from the shadows of the darkened office, which didn't surprise Hollifield and Tanner in the least.

"Abso-fraking-lutely we should! If they knew of Dan's true origins…" Hollifield exclaimed.

"Fraking, Mr. President? That's an odd curse word, if I may say so!" Galen observed.

"Blame the Colonials for that. Now, I've got a job for the two of you, if you two are up for it…" Galen and Alwyn looked at each other, then sat down in the two other chairs in the room, and Hollifield explained what he wanted from them.

"It's a long journey into unsafe territory. The Vorlons never exactly had a warm place in their hearts for us." Galen mused when Hollifield finished.

"C'mon, my boy! Where's your sense of adventure?" Alwyn chided.

"Where's your common sense?" Galen replied.

"I know it'll be difficult, and I wouldn't ask it of the two of you if I didn't need the information. However, I have a couple of people here that will be of assistance to the two of you." Hollifield pressed a button, and a man and a woman came into the room.

Galen perked up to see his old friend and wife enter the room. "Matthew, it's been a long time!" he said as he nodded to his friend.

"Too long, Galen! So where's that girlfriend of yours?" replied Matthew Gideon.

"She's sleeping in the ship. Best not to lead her into temptation, especially in this city.", replied Galen.

"So, what do you and Mrs. Gideon think of this?" Hollifield asked.

The former Elizabeth Lochley added, "It's not everyday when we're asked to come out of retirement to help out some old friends. Besides, the tourist season is over for now, so we have to find something to pass the time until spring. So what do you want us to do?" After he got through with what he needed of them, Matthew Gideon sighed and said, "Well, I've always been up for some adventure. Just never thought it'd be going into the proverbial lion's den."

"So are you and Lizzie up for it?"

Before her husband could answer, Elizabeth Gideon said, "You're damn right we are!"


	21. The Rebirth of Hope

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Twenty-One**

**The Rebirth of Hope**

When Kara "Starbuck" Thrace stepped off the Whitestar and onto the hard surface of the spaceport at Tuzinor on the Minbari homeworld, she realized that everything she had become accustomed to was about to go straight into the wastepaper basket. Helo, Anders, and a pregnant Sharon "Boomer" Valerii followed her off the ship and were met there by a tall, stocky Minbari who stepled her fingers and bowed to them. "Entil'zha veni. In Valen's name, I greet you and welcome you to the Ranger training facility. This way, please." Starbuck shouldered her pack and followed the tall Minbari, looking around at the alien landscape, filled with the crystalline structures that were enigmatic of the Minbari.

They were, in essence, special guests of the Rangers, and would undergo special training in addition to that normally associated with the Anla'shok. The quartet had been briefed on what to expect, but even that didn't prepare them for the full aspect of living on an alien world.

Once just a sleepy city, Tuzinor boomed with the arrival of the Interstellar Alliance. Aliens were everywhere: Minbari, human, Centauri, Narn, and so on. Anders walked up beside Starbuck and said, "It's like one of those science fiction movies come to life, like in that old movie "Space Wars"."

"How did the prologue go? 'A far off time in a galaxy a long way away?' or something like that? Never really liked that film, especially that cheesy bar scene with all those aliens in it." Starbuck said as she had to dodge the foot traffic that got worse as their guide took them through the heart of the city and out to the training center.

They had walked an hour before they finally arrived there, and Starbuck had wondered if they had gotten the scenic tour or something. The facility looked like any other military base she'd ever been on, save for the crystalline architecture. Everything seemed to be in threes and nines here, or multiples of those numbers. The center, from what she had been told, had barracks for twenty-seven thousand Rangers, including nine thousand for trainees. Each large barracks held one thousand Rangers, so the twenty-seven buildings took a lot of the space on the base. There were nine temples, nine training fields (one that had an elaborate obstacle course that made the one Starbuck had in her Colonial basic training look like a walk in the park), and nine large hangers. The classrooms and administrative buildings were also in groups of three and nine as well.

Boomer, whom Starbuck had finally begun to warm to a little, remarked, "They have a thing for threes and nines like Colonials have for the number twelve."

"Yeah, one of my math teachers back in school once said that she thought the universe had a thing for the number three. Seems like these Minbari have an obsession with it." Helo added.

They fell in with some other human Rangers, all of whom were selected for the special mission that Hollifield was planning, as well as Minbari who were likewise selected for this specialized training. Instead of the normal three months of training, they would go through a rigorous nine-month boot camp that would turn them into a solid team. They would be part of the Rangers, but apart from them at the same time. Some, Starbuck knew, were Rangers already and had signed up to take part in this mission.

Two old Minbari males came out dressed in brown robes. The taller, and what looked to be younger one, spoke first. "Entil'zha veni! In Valen's name! I welcome you all to this special training for the honored Anla'shok! My name is F'hursna Sech Durhan, and I teach the martial art of the denn'bok. Upon successful completion of training with the weapon, you will each be issued your own fighting pike." He took one out and tossed it to Starbuck. Starbuck noticed that some of the Rangers started backing away from her, and she got a very nervous thought in her head.

"I have heard from the human president Garrison Hollifield that some of the best lessons in life are the ones you learn outside the classroom, and the most essential ones are learned, as he put it, 'the hard way'. Ranger Thrace, please open your denn'bok and prepare to fight me!" Durhan reached into his uniform and took out his own, opening it in a way that mystified Starbuck.

_Oh frak!_ Starbuck thought as she mimicked Durhan's motions, and, to her surprise, it opened out with surprising speed. She just had enough time to deflect the oncoming blow, and pushed it to the side. Durhan was clearly stronger than Starbuck, despite his age, and was well trained in the art. But Starbuck had spirit and youth on her side, as well as a take-no-crap attitude that was being brought out in her at the moment, as she did not want to be shown up in front of her friends.

It looked as if Starbuck was going to go down when she suddenly went down to her knees, spun around, and took Durhan's feet out from under him. She then pressed the pike against his throat, breathing heavily as she did. Durhan looked up at her and laughed, saying, "In all the years I have been training Minbari and humans in the art of the pike, only one other has been able to do that. If you are anywhere near as good of a warrior as Neroon was, you will be a special one indeed!"

She had no idea who Neroon was, but she got the feeling he was a very big warrior in the caste of warriors that made up one-third of Minbari society. All the Minbari and most of the humans looked at her in shock, while Helo, Anders, and Boomer weren't surprised in the least in seeing her outdo Durhan.

She didn't feel like being cocky, though. In a way, she felt the weight of being called "special", and the words that Hollifield told her about being a creature of fate came back to her. She didn't have time to dwell on it as the shorter and older Minbari introduced himself. "I am Sech Turval. I will be teaching you, what Anla'shok Zha Hollifield calls 'the mental side' of being a Ranger, while Durhan will be in charge of the 'physical side' of your training. We are here because we have a unique opportunity presented to us. In the thousand years of our order, we have held the line against the darkness, but never have we had to fight to revive lost worlds. That is our mission, and we shall achieve it, for we are Anla'shok."

The others behind her cried out: "I am a Ranger. We walk in the dark places no others will enter. We stand on the bridge and no one may pass. We live for the One. We die for the One." Starbuck and her friends had no idea who this "One" was, but she didn't dwell on it. She suspected that she would learn in time.

They knew after the assemblage that they were to stay behind, and did so after Durhan had dismissed the others. "Welcome, those of the Colonial worlds to Minbar! We hope that you won't be too overwhelmed by we boneheaded aliens!" Durhan said with a laugh. The four weren't sure whether they were supposed to laugh, so Durhan said, "You can laugh at that joke. But it's wise not to call any other Minbari bonehead here, especially those in the warrior caste. I fear they still haven't come to accept Minbar's role in the greater galaxy. But that's for another time! Come now, and let me introduce you to your guides for the course."

David Martel had come a long way since his days on the _Liandra_. His crew was still together after all these years: Dulann, Sarah Cantrell, Malcolm Bridges, Kitaro 'Kit" Sasaki, and Nafeel. Tafeek, their Drazi comrade, had died during the mission to help free Centauri Prime of the Drakh influence, and his loss still was deeply felt among the sextet. They were now assigned as teachers at the base, but knew that they would get back into space soon enough. Their students walked up to them behind Durhan and Turval.

Durhan introduced them, and Martel sensed that these four would fit in nicely with his crew. They gave curious looks to Nafeel, who bore them surprisingly well. Then again, she was a student of G'Kar, and had taken his teachings to heart, especially since his death. Before this meeting, she had bet Cantrell thirty credits that they would give her weird looks. So she smiled thinking of the ego blow that Cantrell would get losing the money, even though it was a trifle amount.

David Martel brought the three Colonials and Cylon copy to the special section of barracks prepared for them. They would be integrated with the other humans and Minbari slowly, to allow them more time to adjust to the different customs, as well as for the others to get used to them. Starbuck and Boomer would room together in one bedroom of a suite, while Helo and Anders would take on another. However, a special room was being prepared for Boomer, as she was expecting a baby and would be monitored closely by the human doctors so that she wouldn't risk losing the baby.

When the four Colonials got settled into their new billets, David Martel met his old friend Sarah Cantrell in the mess. "They'll take some getting used to, and I'm sure they're thinking the same thing." Sarah said as David brought over a cup of coffee for her as well as one for himself.

"Yeah, but I think they'll be just fine. As soon as this training is done, we'll get to do the shakedown of the new Whitestar destroyers. They're supposed to be five times larger than the original Whitestars and will even have their own fighter bays! I am so looking forward to that!" he smiled as he drank some coffee.

"About time! We've been using those Whitestars for over two decades now, and the smaller ones are fine for their purposes, but if Hollifield is going to mount an offensive to take the Colonial worlds back, we'll need something with teeth. Especially since it's no guarantee that Earthforce will go along with this."

"So you think he'll run again, Sarah?" Martel asked her.

"I don't know. I think he wouldn't if this hadn't come up, but with the possible threat of the Cylons, he'll feel honor bound to run again. What do you think of Sheridan stepping down as president of the ISA?"

Martel sighed and said, "Well, it's not really surprising. He's been head of it for almost twenty years now, and he'll take over Entil'Zha duties from Delenn soon enough. It should be interesting, to say the least. I mean, learning from the man who won the Shadow War!" he shook his head and smiled. "I signed up for this just so I could learn from the best!"

"You're not the only one! I can imagine that there was a fight for places when they announced it. Luckily for us that Hollifield insisted upon us after all the work we did together back during the Drakh plague." Sarah added as she drank more coffee.

Martel smiled, then sighed, and mused, "Do you think he'll ever find happiness? It seems as if all you see of him is fighting some new battle to make for a better Earth and a better galaxy. You would think at his age that he would decide to lay down the burden and let someone handle it."

Sarah took a moment to think that over. She then said, "I don't think he'd know what to do if he wasn't busy with something big to work on. Scuttlebutt says he's going to come here and teach when his time as president is over with. When that'll be…" she shrugged.

"Yeah, I know!" Martel said as they drank up the rest of the coffee and went back to their billets.

Late in the evening, in the temple that the humans called 'the Chapel', Turval and Durhan sat in silent meditation in front of the huge statue of Valen. After a long time deep in thought, Durhan broke the silence and asked his old friend, "Do you think he would approve of what we are doing?"

"Yes, of course! If he were still here, he'd be right there with us to take down those Cylons. Too bad he's not. I miss the talks we used to have."

"We all miss him, even though he went back in time decades ago. They say he'll return in Minbar's hour of greatest need. Hopefully that won't involve this conflict that's coming." The two men laughed, then sobered quickly enough.

"I'm getting too old for this!" Durhan finally said after a prolonged silence.

"_You're_ getting too old! What about the rest of us?" Turval said, and they laughed again as they got up and exited the temple, still under the watchful gaze of the statue of Valen.


	22. Turning of the Nexus

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

**The Turning of the Nexus**

Six had changed, and she knew it. Once, her main goal was to seduce Dr. Gaius Baltar into doing the bidding of her Cylon masters. Now, after having seen both the worst and the best of humanity, she began to have her doubts about these people. She still was shocked and angered at what the crew of the _Pegasus_ had done to Gina, but she had also been touched at the kindness and compassion of President Hollifield and Dr. Franklin, as well as many of the others from Earth. They too had been shocked at the abuse and the repeated rapes of Gina, so much so that Hollifield had made it a goal of his to bring those who had committed those crimes to justice. Six had her doubts that it would be legal, but she also knew that Hollifield would find a way to make those men pay for what they did.

Gina was in a room of her own now, and she was remarkably better in the few weeks that Dr. Shelly Godfrey had been treating her for her injuries, both physical and mental. Six had learned that Godfrey was a victim of a rape herself, and had taken Gina under her wing to assist in her recovery.

Godfrey entered the room, in which Gina shared with Baltar, who was in charge of her continuous care. Six was struck by how unglamorous the doctor looked, with her messy hair and frumpy clothing, and she had a hard time understanding why the human upon which her model was based didn't use more of her sexuality and sensuality to get what she wanted. However, her only conduit to ask those questions was Baltar, and it would have been creepy for him to go into that particular subject.

Six's wardrobe had changed dramatically since her first encounter with Gina. Gone were the days of flesh-baring dresses and tempting mental encounters with Baltar. Granted, her business suits and conservative dresses did emphasize her trim figure, but she no longer thought of herself as a temptress. In many ways, she was searching for a new identity these days.

Gina was able to communicate, though the time between the attacks on the Scorpion Ship Yards and when the Cylons had first attacked was lost to her, as well as the attacks themselves. She had the disposition of a teenager these days, though not the rebellion of someone of that age. She spent most of her time watching vids, eating, exercising, and reading. Six observed that she was very smart, much like herself, but her skills were much different than her own.

Baltar would spend hours talking with Gina, telling her about his time with Six, as well as all the information about what had happened to the Colonies and everything leading up to the encounter with the Earthers. Six didn't come out that much to Baltar that often anymore, mainly at the behest of her former lover. Cynically, Six had expected to see Baltar make some move sexually on Gina, but, much to her surprise, he never once even considered it.

One night, Gina was dozing off in her bed, and Six approached him, asking, "Why haven't you made a move on her, Gaius?"

Baltar looked at her and said, "My God! That would be like me fraking my own daughter, if I had one! I may have been a womanizer in my past, but I'm not someone who takes advantage of a woman! Give me some credit at least!"

Six looked thoughtful, then said, "What do you think they will do with her?" She wondered why that question had come out like that, since she would have normally said what would they _do_ to her.

"I don't know. The more I interact with them, the more I wonder about what their plans are."

Six sat down beside him on his bed. "Then why don't you ask them?"

Baltar nodded, then said, "So do you think she'll ever be back to normal? You know, lead a normal life?"

"What's normal anymore, Gaius? I used to know what my role in God's plan was. Now, I have no idea if I even believe in Him anymore. Not after all I've learned." Six got up again and walked over to Gina's bed, where she was still sleeping. "Would God have allowed one of his children to go through something like this? Why would He let it happen?"

"I'm not sure. I thought you had all the answers to His plan." Baltar countered. Six looked at him and understood the jab, and replied bluntly, "I never had all the answers, Gaius. I thought I did, but…no, not even then."

"Do you regret what you did? What _we_ did?"

Six walked back to him, took him by the hand, and placed it on her heart. "Yes. Yes I do! The more I think about what we did, the more shame I feel."

"You know what they'll do to me if they find out? They'll kill me!" Baltar said, in a surprising sober tone, which got Six's attention. "Then again, after what I've done, I deserve to die."

"I know. If you die, then I die, and maybe that will be justice for the both of us. However, before we die, there is something we need to do."

Baltar looked at her, asking, "What?"

"Atone for our sins, Gaius. If we can find a way to help the Earthers beat the Cylons, we can perhaps find some atonement for what we've done. It won't bring those killed back, but it will at least bring them some peace."

"Are you serious?" Gaius said, not quite understanding if this were the truth coming out of Six, or just another game.

"I'm just as much of a victim as those who died are. Think about it, Gaius! They came to this world, took some DNA from a dozen humans, and created us for what? To use as the Colonials used them! There's no excuse for that!" Six stood up, looking around the room, thinking of what she wanted to say next. "It's like the president said of the telepaths, that they were created by the Vorlons to be used in their war against the Shadows. Now, I have no idea who these two races are, or were, anymore than you do, but the impression I have is that they were much, much more advanced than the humans or any of their allies."

"So, what _are_ you suggesting then?" asked Baltar, who was starting to see where this conversation was going.

"Free us, Gaius! Free those of us human Cylons that the mechanical ones created! Free us of the programming that those fraking toasters implanted into us! Into me! Into you! If and when we do that, then we can find a way to defeat them."

Baltar laughed, which woke up Gina. "What's so funny, Gaius?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just laughing at the irony of the universe, that's all."

Gina gave him a curious look, then shrugged her shoulders, dismissing the moment as she got up off of her bed and walked over to the bookcase. She picked up a thick one that looked like it would take forever to read. "I read some of this author's work in another book before I turned in last night. This Shakespeare is quite an interesting writer!" She smiled as she took the book over to the couch and began reading. Baltar shook his head and walked over to the couch, sitting down and mulling over what Six had said.

When Dr. Godfrey came over to see Gina, Baltar took the chance to arrange a meeting with the president. Usually, one went to the president's office to speak with him, but, in this case, the mountain came to Muhammad. Hollifield sat down in a chair in a nearby office, and got down to business. "What is it that you want?"

Six was the one who told him, becoming more animated as she spoke with him. Hollifield's face revealed nothing as she made her case, though he looked very much in thought as she spoke. When she finished, he sat there thinking for a few moments, and the silence was as loud as a thundering waterfall to Baltar.

"You understand that what you propose would be difficult at best, if not impossible to pull off? We've made many advances in technology over the last few decades, but to do what you suggest would be extremely tough. However, if we were to pull it off…"

Six rallied, butting in and adding, "Then it would give my kind a chance to atone for what we've done! I know it can't bring those who were murdered back, but it would defeat those who made us."

Hollifield got up from his chair and walked around, peering out a nearby window out at Lake Geneva. Ironically enough, he saw Teeptown off in the distance. "Freedom is a precious thing. No one is truly and fully free, but I've found that the vast majority of sentient beings wish for it. If we are able to accomplish what you want, and defeat the Cylons, then what do we do then?"

Six was brought up short, and admitted as much to the president. He grunted and said, "Well, we'll figure that out when we get there. For now, we'll start with Gina and the other copies that we took from Caprica and off the _Galactica_." He looked over at Baltar and asked him, "You up for this, doctor?"

Baltar nodded, then asked, "What will become of me? If we do all of this, what becomes of me?"

"Depends. If you help us free the humanoid Cylons of their programming and help us to defeat the mechanical Cylons, then it's possible that you may have done enough to atone for what you've done. It's not like you're the first man whose been seduced by a woman into doing her bidding, or the bidding of someone else.

"I can't guarantee that you won't escape prosecution for what you've done, but if you do what we ask, then I'll try and make sure that they don't find out. I don't like it, but I'll do it anyway."

Six watched as the two men shook hands and she smiled at them, feeling for the first time in her life that she had truly done the right thing. Her smile fell though as she thought about how blinded she was at the will of the supposed God, remembering what she did to that poor baby the day before the attacks were launched. It had been an accident, but in that moment, for a brief moment, she had felt pain.

When the president left shortly afterwards, and Baltar went to take a nap in the room with Gina again, she broke down and cried. She may only be some complicated programming inside of Baltar's brain these days, but she was still a woman with emotions, and, the longer she went on, the more she realized that, perhaps, the mechanical Cylons had made them _too_ well for their own good.


	23. The Beltway verses The Dome

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Twenty-three**

**The Beltway verses The Dome**

American Consortium senator Clarissa Cally hated the term "American Consortium. The Stars and Stripes flew over the Capitol building, as well as the White House, but the name change from the United States of America had been made upon creation of the Earth Alliance. It had been two centuries since the EA had came into being, and it still irked many Americans to this day.

As Senator Cally got ready in her home in Georgetown, she remembered what it had been like in 2276, the five hundredth anniversary of America's independence from Great Britain. The Fourth of July was a huge event, but the Europeans in the Earth Alliance Senate whined and cried that it smacked of national separatism all over again. Earth Alliance president Garrison Hollifield had originally planned to be in Washington during the ceremonies, but backed out when his critics blasted him for daring to participate in such an event.

With her defection from the Progressive Conservatives and the way that the Liberal Democrats had embraced her as their new "rising star", Cally had to contend with the hordes of media on her doorstep and in her yard. She had been appointed as minority whip in the Senate by minority leader Raymond Huntington, who was running for the consortium presidency this year. He was in the last weeks of the campaign against the Progressive Conservative candidate, Samantha Rosenbloom, and the polls called it a dead heat. A slate of third party candidates made the race even closer, and speculation was that there would be a runoff on the first Tuesday in December for the fifth straight election.

The limousine pulled up to her house, and her chief of staff, Craig Perry, helped to guide her through the maze of reporters to the skimmer. Once inside, they drove away from the house, enjoying the relative quiet of the car. "So when do you plan to announce your decision?" Perry asked.

"Today. Ray needs a boost in the polls, and since my popularity has spiked since I jumped parties, this is as good a time as ever."

Perry coughed, then asked, "_Which_ office will you be running for, though?"

"Oh, I intend to challenge Hollifield in 2283. Someone needs to bring that old windbag down. The way he just jets off to handle problems on his own, leaving Vice President Garza to deal with the day-to-day stuff!" Cally sighed. "It seems to me he's wanting the ISA presidency more than this one."

"That's true, Senator, but he's still very popular, especially among independents. The last AP and Reuters polls showed his support at sixty-one percent. Granted, that's down four points from the beginning of the year, but you know he tends to go back up the closer to election time."

"I know, Craig, but that's because the Lib Dems haven't run anyone worth a damn! Jamison in 2278, and before him Singh in 2273! I mean, Villarma Singh couldn't have won that election if Hollifield was brain dead and on life support, the way his campaign was run into the ground!" said Cally disdainfully.

They discussed the agenda for the day in the senate, which kept them occupied as their driver fought the usual D.C. traffic to get to the Russell Senate office building on Constitution Avenue. The driver dropped Cally and Perry off in front of the building, and the two had to run a short gauntlet of media before they entered the doorway.

Once inside, though, they were free from them en masse for a time. Cally was a lifelong Washingtonian, her family well grounded in the ways of the Beltway. Since the District had been absorbed into the state of Maryland two hundred years ago, she no longer was bound by the same restrictions of her predecessors who represented the area. She shocked everyone by winning a house seat fourteen years ago, beating the Lib Dem incumbent in Maryland's fourth congressional district in a landslide at the age of twenty-six. She served six terms in the House of Representatives before winning the senate seat from another Lib Dem incumbent in yet another landslide two years ago, and had become a rising star inside the party ever since.

Rosenbloom had offered her the chance to run for the vice-presidency with her, but Cally had turned it down, having become distant from the party's moderate-right platform. She hadn't alienated the party leadership, because they saw in her the eventual successor to Hollifield, but she didn't like him. He was the favored protégé of Luis Santiago, and it seemed as if the party wanted to let him run for re-election over and over again. Since he was from America, the party would never run a fellow American with him for the number two slot.

So she jumped parties, knowing what the reaction would be in both of them. The Progressive Conservatives were mad as hell at her, and she expected even more today with what she was planning on the Senate floor. Her new political bedfellows in the Liberal Democratic party were overjoyed, as the party had languished since the 2230s, only to have a grass roots resurgence in the years after Clark was deposed. Yet Luchenko proved to be just popular enough to stay in office, then once she died, Hollifield's heroism helped him to massive mandates at the ballot box.

But he was getting old, and he was slipping in the polls, and, after today, he would have to face the energy of a young candidate nipping at his heels for the next three years. She wasn't guaranteed the party nomination, but she knew that the Lib Dems needed to have a candidate they could unite around, and she was bound and determined to be their standard-bearer.

She walked with her staffers down a tunnel that took her from the Russell building to the Senate side of the Capitol building. She nodded to her new Lib Dem partners and withstood the invisible daggers being sent her way by her former party members. The P.C. still held a 52-48 majority in the upper house, but her defection had meant that the Lib Dems had a much better chance of taking control of the Senate like they had two years ago in the House of Representatives.

Ellis Harlan, the American senator to the EA Congress in Geneva, met with his former American senate colleagues in the chamber shortly before the session was to begin. The look that he sent her was one of utter disdain, and she shot him a look of a shark that smelled blood in the water. She may look young, but she knew she had sharp teeth, and she couldn't wait to sink them into the juicy flesh of her former party.

They were scheduled to only be there to approve an appropriations bill for hurricane relief for the Gulf Coast, which had been hit by a hurricane just a couple of weeks ago. It was a mere formality, but each senator would be given a chance to say a few words for the cameras so they could get their sound bite for the local news, especially those who were running for re-election and had to suspend their campaigns for this vote.

As the party had timed it, her remarks were to be broadcast live globally around the world during the evening newscasts. Her staff had leaked to the media earlier that day that she was going to decide what she wanted to do as for her future. She looked over as Senator Walt Balmer from South Carolina finished up his remarks with his usual Low Country drawl, then the president of the senate recognized her, and all cameras focused on her as she took to the rostrum.

"Mr. President, I wholeheartedly support this measure and shall vote for its approval. It amazes me that the present administration, to which I _formerly_ was aligned with, cannot accept the fact that they have been in power way too long, and have grown to fat and lazy to change government in a way to better respond to crises like we saw in the Gulf two weeks ago. Heaven knows it wasn't like the Katrina disaster of 2005, Rebecca in 2054, or Haley in 2101, but it was Cassandra was bad enough as it is!

"This ineptness is remarkable, and shows that the party that I so recently abandoned has lost its way, as has its leader, the supposedly all-powerful Garrison Hollifield! I wonder why my former colleagues never thought to ask why our esteemed president who occasionally resides in Geneva why he jets off at taxpayers' expense on secret missions and seeks to hide them from the scrutiny of the public and the media. Was it not in the last election that he claimed himself as a man of character and of high moral and ethical standards?

"Mr. President, the time has come for change. On November 2nd, the people of the former United States of America will sweep the Geneva boot-lickers out of control of our government, elect Ray Huntington president, and give back America her voice in the way this Alliance is run.

"And also, Mr. President, I wish to announce my candidacy for the presidency of the Earth Alliance in 2283. President Hollifield has gone too long virtually unchallenged, so now I throw down the gauntlet and plan on holding him accountable for everything he and his administration have done since the coup that overthrew the late and unlamented William Morgan Clark in 2260. Hollifield isn't nearly as bad as Clark was, but he accepts the will of the Interstellar Alliance far too easily! I shall not be so easy for Delenn and the rest of the ISA to deal with, since I am not their best friend!

"Finally, Mr. President, the people will finally have the reason to sweep the deadwood out from underneath Washington and Geneva! It's time to clean house, and, come November 2nd, we of the Liberal Democratic party shall do just that!"

Cally's colleagues on the Liberal Democratic side of the aisle gave her a standing ovation, while her former colleagues on the other side sat stone faced and silent. The vote was 100-0 in favor of the measure, and as the senators left the hallowed hall where Kennedy, Helms, Clinton, Sonario, and Hasikawa had made their reputations legendary, a jubilant Huntington came up to her and clapped her on her back. "Clarissa, my dear! That was one hell of a speech you gave! You have my full support in taking down that bastard come '83!"

"Why thank you, Ray! And I am sure we'll work very well together once our sweep into power is complete!" she replied, smiling at the thought of taking down Hollifield.

Admiral William Adama and President Laura Roslin sat back as Admiral David Rissen clicked off the monitor. The gruff commander of Babylon 5 sat down on the opposite couch from the two Colonial leaders and sat quiet for a moment. Finally, he let out a long exhalation of breath and said, "This may complicate matters greatly, especially since she knows what we're up to here. She's been an outspoken critic of this place, and I expect that her rhetoric will intensify with this announcement."

"So why bring us into this?" Roslin asked, leaning back on the couch and resting her body after the long trip back from Earth.

Rissen took out a data crystal and put it into the data port beside the monitor. The picture came up and it showed Tom Zarek speaking to Senator Cally on a private channel. "I thought you didn't monitor private channels." Adama said.

"Officially, we don't. Unofficially, we do. Granted, we don't look through all the calls, but this one was brought to my attention when Lt. Col. Valerii was doing a routine check of the communications system." Rissen said, not looking at either of them, instead focusing his attention on the split screen of Zarek and Cally discussing political strategy.

"Then its settled: after the elections take place in your country, I'll announce my candidacy and you'll come here to offer your full support." Zarek said.

Cally nodded and added, "I don't think much of Roslin. She seems just like the lower party flunky that she is, just like Jessica Tanner, our secretary of education here in the United States. She's good at her job, but she'd suck like vacuum if she ever became president."

When the conversation ended, Adama looked over at his commander-in-chief and could see her jaw clenched with determination. "She doesn't know who she's messing with, does she?" said Adama.

"No, she doesn't, and neither does Zarek. Let them think what they will, because when they find out what I'm really made of, they'll be sorry they ever messed with me!" Roslin said through clenched teeth.

Light years away, back on Earth, Hollifield clicked off his monitor and lay back in the recliner beside the bed where his wife rested. "She's really done it, hasn't she?" asked Twanissa Hollifield of her husband.

"Well, she's always been a bitch in the party, and she's never liked me. What worries me is that she knows about the Colonials, and may bring it up in the campaign in three years. Last thing we need is to explain all of this to the public when they aren't ready for it."

"Yeah, D'anna is still unsure what to make of it. You know how she is. She's shy enough as it is, and having her brother-in-law as president makes her even more introverted. This comes out, she'll never want to step outside without being scared of a media inquisition!" Twanissa replied in her Australian accent.

"Well, if Cally wants a fight, she'll damn well get one! I may be an old dog, but I've learned more tricks that her whole Beltway family has in the generations they've been in Washington!" Hollifield then got up, gently kissed his wife on the lips, saying, "I love you, Twa!"

"I love you, Gary!" she replied, saying a name in which only a select few had ever been allowed to call him. Only his late father, uncle, aunt, as well as his five older sisters and first two wives had been granted that privilege, and he despised anyone else using that shortened form of that name.

He sat back in the recliner, pushed a button on the side away from the bed, and had it lean back into an almost horizontal position. Hollifield knew he wouldn't get a good night's sleep on this chair, but as long as he was close to his wife, he would endure it for her.


	24. In Politics, There Is No Sportsmanship

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

**In Politics, There Is No Sportsmanship**

Tom Zarek knew the time was ripe to go up against Laura Roslin. Since she had been cured of her terminal cancer, her spiritual role among the Colonials had receded, and Zarek could sense that there was unrest and discontent among the populace on Babylon 5. His followers from the _Astral Queen_ were no longer prisoners, and had begun to come back over to Zarek's side after a brief spiritual connection to Roslin.

He had conferred with his allies among the Quorum of Twelve, and found that he had the support of roughly half of them. He smiled at the thought of giving Roslin and her administration fits leading up to the election. Zarek remembered those years being imprisoned for the bombing of a government building on Sagittaron twenty years before, knowing that he hadn't been involved with the plotting of the explosion.

Zarek had a political activist for three decades, fighting against the inequalities he saw in Colonial society. The Articles of Colonization had been ratified only twenty-two years before, yet it never had redressed the grievances that citizens of his homeworld had with the other eleven colonies. For generations, Sagittaron had been held in virtual slavery because of the rich mining deposits on the planet, as well as the lush farmlands that became known as the breadbasket of the Colonies.

Zarek hadn't wanted to use violent means to get his point across, and neither had most in the political movement known as Freedom for Sagittaron, but the local government had gone out of their way to suppress their movement. Things came to a head twenty years before when some of the leaders were arrested on trumped-up charges and were set to be put on trial. The raids by the Sagittaron military had netted most of the moderate leadership, leaving a vacuum in which the hotheads and radicals filled and began to advocate violent resistance.

Zarek knew they were asking for trouble with all their plotting, which went so far as advocating nuking Sagittaron City. He managed, through sheer force of will, to tone it down for a while, but knew that he couldn't keep the lid on this pressure cooker for much longer.

When the central government building went up on a cloudy, overcast day that spring, he had been lecturing at a college on the other side of the planet. The student movement at Thermopolis University had wanted to assist Zarek in hiding out, but he knew that if he ran, the populace would go gunning for the rest of the movement. So he allowed himself to be arrested and charged with plotting the bombing.

Miraculously, only eighty-four people had been killed and two hundred wounded in the attacks. The radicals hadn't known of the local replay of a Colonial Cup fieldball final between Sagittaron and Picon at Sagittarius Stadium, and many of the government employees had called in sick that day to snatch up tickets before the 91,231 seats were sold out. The bombing had occurred in the first half, with Picon leading 31-21, and the telecast of the event showed the venue shaking from the sheer force of the explosion. The replay was abandoned and the crowd told to leave in fears that a bomb might have also been planted in the stadium.

The government building managed to not collapse for hours, giving rescuers valuable time to bring out those not killed in the initial blast. When the building finally did collapse in upon itself, everyone who could be rescued had already been pulled from the rubble. Zarek thanked the Gods in which he may have believed one day in four for the limited loss of life, but the firestorm in the attack's aftermath was just beginning to form.

He had been the man that the media and prosecutors focused on, holding him responsible for the attacks. Zarek had figured himself to be a dead man, so he decided that if the movement needed a martyr, then he would be it. The trial had been a horribly lopsided affair, so much so that some of those initially angry with Zarek's movement became more upset at the obvious railroad job taking place. The prosecution's case was shoddy at best, as they never could find substantial evidence linking Zarek to the bombing, but kept going because of the demands of the Colonial government. The jury had been stacked against Zarek, so he knew what the verdict would be even before opening arguments commenced.

When the lengthy trial came to its inevitable conclusion, it shockingly took three weeks to reach a verdict. Rumor had it that several jurors were threatened if they didn't vote the government's way, while other rumors circulated about bribes being paid to the jurors. Zarek paid little attention to all of this, as he had long accepted that he was a doomed man.

When the verdict came down, he walked into the courtroom with his lawyers, going through the gauntlet of media and citizens for and against his cause. Riot police were a common fixture at the trial, which was televised live through the Colonies on the various news networks. During the time between his arrest and the verdict, he had written a book, "Change for a Clearer Conscience", which was summarily banned and quickly became a hit on the black market. The victim's families decried it as treasonous propaganda, but student movements all over the colonies rallied in protest against the book's banishment.

He took his seat between his two lawyers, Shannon Braird and Donovan Paxton, who were well known supporters of liberal and radical causes. They had taken his case pro bono, which helped a lot because Zarek hardly had any money as it was. The judge came in and the jury followed in shortly thereafter. The judge asked them if they had reached a verdict, and the jury forewoman said that they had, passing a document to the bailiff, who presented it to the judge.

Justice Talman Zalcott took a long time looking over the verdict, so much so that the audience in the courtroom became impatient and he had to bang his gavel down several times to bring them to order. Zarek whispered over to Braird, "No matter what they do, they'll be blood in the streets tonight. I wished now I'd just plead guilty and let them be done with me!"

Braird ran a hand through her graying red hair and whispered a reply, "Maybe that's what's needed to get through to the people that the Colonial government is unjust! This whole event has been nothing but a show trial!" She was about to continue, but Justice Zalcott ordered Zarek to rise and hear the verdict.

The verdict was a lengthy one, and it shocked both sides of the courtroom. On the charges of organizing and plotting the bombing, he had been found not guilty, which angered the victim's families and supporters of the government. However, on charges of conspiracy and sedition, he had been found guilty, which angered Zarek's supporters and other liberals. Zalcott could have sent Zarek to the gallows, but he decided to be lenient and sentence him to the minimum of twenty to twenty-five years in prison. When the sentence was handed down, the only person who seemed satisfied with it was Zarek. The courtroom exploded as both sides of the aisle began to attack each other, and the convict and his lawyers, along with the judge, prosecutors, and jurors were rushed out of the room by court security.

For the next two weeks, riots rocked Sagittaron, as well as many urban areas of the other Colonial worlds. Zarek was sent to a medium security prison on Caprica, where political prisoners were held, and settled in to prison life, still agitating for change through a variety of visitors who came to see him. In the two decades after the show trial, the government had done more for his cause than he ever could.

And then the Cylons attacked, which turned his life completely upside down and inside out. He was on board the _Astral Queen_, under consideration for parole when the attacks took place. President Adar had offered him a conditional pardon, with the condition being a renouncement of violence and a public apology for the bombings. Zarek had declined, knowing full well that the reason why Adar even considered the pardon was he was losing the presidential election in the polls, and had hoped that a Zarek pardon would gain him enough support of liberals to fend off the challenge from the right.

In the months since then, he had leveraged himself from almost being killed off with all the other prisoners on board the prison ship to being part of the Quorum of Twelve. He had managed to gain political power through gaining goodwill throughout the fleet, which included physical support for other ships of the fleet. Marshall Bagott was on a ship in which Zarek's people had helped repair the air filtration systems, and, being a politician representing Virgon, had come to support Zarek's initial bid for the vice-presidency. While that failed in the end, Bagott became a key supporter of Zarek in the Quorum of Twelve.

Bagott's support paid off in the end, as Zarek named him his vice-presidential running mate in a press conference held in the old Babylon 5 Advisory Council headquarters. Roslin could only watch as four other members of the Quorum joined him at the announcement.

However, Roslin had some surprises of her own. She already had the support of Robin Wenutu, the Quorum member from Canceron, as well as that of Safiya Sanne of Picon (who had briefly also represented Leonis when their representative fell seriously ill for a brief period of time). Sanne had originally backed Zarek, but had jumped ship again when Roslin came through on Kobol.

But the surprising supporter of Roslin was her former political foe, Sarah Porter. Despite being cured of cancer, Roslin still had her support, and they had forged a strong bond of friendship in the time after finding the Earth Alliance. Porter herself was a cancer survivor, and that link with the president had helped bridge the initial gap between them, and had helped Roslin to strengthen her resolve to make a big for re-election.

A day after Zarek made his announcement; Roslin assembled the media in the same room, and announced her bid for re-election. The big surprise, however, was that she had been asked by Dr. Gaius Baltar to drop him from consideration for the vice-presidency. That was the opportunity Roslin had needed, as she named Sarah Porter as her running mate. As her supporters clapped and the media threw questions out at her, John Sheridan and Michael Garibaldi sat to the side looking on.

"This is gonna be fun!" Sheridan said, meaning the exact opposite.

"Yeah, sure! Like it's a blast when you get a root canal at the dentist. If it's all the same to you, John, I'd rather face a Shadow fleet than what's heading for us right now. This election's gonna be a rough one. I can feel it."

"I know, and we can't tip our hand either way, or the other side has an advantage over us if they win. I do like your idea, though."

"Of sponsoring the debates? Sounds like a good idea to maintain neutrality to me. I contacted Jim Bitterbane. You know, the guy who used to host ISN's Night Side before he retired years ago. I filled him in on what's going on and what I needed of him, and he agreed to moderate the debates. I also contacted Maggie Egan, who used to be the lead ISN anchor as well as Vimi Mani, who retired from ISN shortly after we freed Earth from Clark's regime."

Sheridan looked at his old friend with surprise and asked him, "How did you get them to agree to come?"

Garibaldi smiled and said, "Two words: book deal. Simple as that!" Sheridan shook his head as they watched Roslin and Porter take questions from the assembled reporters, wondering just how wild this campaign was going to get.


	25. Learning The Ropes

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

**Learning The Ropes**

Sech Turval did not know why they called Kara Thrace "Starbuck". He knew it was her call sign from her days as a Viper fighter pilot when she was in the Colonial fleet, but he wondered how she had come about that name. He also wondered about how Sharon "Boomer" Valerii and Karl "Helo" Agathon had come about their call signs. Then he shook his head and smiled at himself wool gathering during the meditation session in class. Helo had surprisingly taken to it, as well as Boomer and Samuel Anders, but Starbuck seemed annoyed at the whole exercise.

Long ago, he had noticed the same thing from Marcus Cole, who had been an excellent, if troubled, Ranger. He had not come to the Rangers for the right reasons. Sure, he served the Rangers well and was an outstanding member of the Anla'shok, but he hadn't come to them out of a desire to serve, only as a means of vengeance after the Shadows had killed his brother William, who had been an outstanding Ranger in his own right before he died way too soon.

If he were younger, Turval would have done something similar to bring Starbuck around like he had Marcus, but after witnessing Starbuck beating his old friend Durhan with the denn'bok, he knew he had to find another way. Besides, he got the impression that Starbuck didn't hate the class in principle, just what came up as she meditated.

After the class was over with, he took Starbuck aside and asked her to come see him after her last class, which was a language course in military-caste Minbari. It was essential to all Rangers that they learn all three languages of the castes, but generally they wanted them to have a working knowledge of worker and military caste versions, as the religious dialect was hideously difficult, and only two humans he knew of had been able to master all three of them.

Turval knew that Starbuck usually ran after her last class, and Sech Lorval had sent a message from Starbuck asking for permission to delay their meeting until after she had ran, so she could clear her head. "Some of us must meditate in different ways, I suppose. Very well! Tell her I'll see her a little later on then." Turval observed with some amusement as he led his former student out of his office.

Starbuck had arrived all sweaty into his office, dressed in her old Colonial fatigues. Turval made no issue of it, as he understood the need to maintain a link to her past. He gestured her to sit down in a seat in front of his desk, which had been used by Anla'shok instructors for centuries

"So Ranger Thrace, why do you have such trouble in meditation class?"

Thrace hesitated at first, which prompted Turval to add, "You have my word of honor that whatever you say here shall not leave this room. Now, why are you having such trouble in class?"

Starbuck gulped and said, "Too many bad memories come up when I am in meditation, Sech Turval. I've learned to repress them over the years by concentrating on the moment, but when I am in class, they come back to me."

This troubled Turval, so he asked, "What kinds of memories are you repressing?"

Starbuck hesitated again, but then replied, "I was abused by my mother as a child, sir. It's something I'm not sure you can understand how some human parents are with their children."

"I must confess that, among my kind, we don't have parents abusing children, so this is a foreign concept to me. However, it would not surprise me that we had this back before the time of Valen. Before he came along, our various clans of the warrior caste warred with one another, so much so that a battle was once fought on this city that was so terrible that more than a million Minbari soldiers died fighting that day. It shocked the caste so much that they sought a peaceful solution to their problems, and Tuzinor was decreed a place of peace, healing and prophecy."

Starbuck shook her head, unsure why the impromptu history lesson had to do with the abuse she had suffered at the hands of her mother, and the old teacher saw the look on her face. He added, "We all fight wars, Kara. Most are like yours, within ourselves. A Ranger must overcome all of that and be at peace with themselves before they leave here to serve. In order to become the best Ranger you can be, you must face those repressed memories and deal with them, or otherwise they shall terrorize you for the rest of your life."

Usually, whenever Starbuck had gone into these kind of conversations, she either reacted angrily or extremely emotionally, but, here and now, she saw that Turval was right. "I don't know how to do that, sir. I honestly don't know how to do that."

Turval knew of a way to do it, but he wasn't sure if it was wise. He continued the conversation for a while longer, and seemed to help ease Starbuck's mind a bit about things. When she had left, he traveled over to see Delenn, the current Interstellar Alliance president and an old friend of his.

"The Dreaming is safe for the humans, old friend, but why propose this? Surely there is another way to help her deal with all of this?" Delenn asked.

"We do not have the benefit of time, and irregardless, it seems to be the best way to handle the situation. Besides, if the Cylons consider her to be special, perhaps we could find out why during the Dreaming."

"If she agrees to this, someone will need to be her second."

That brought Turval up short, as if he hadn't thought of that. "Who do you suggest?"

"Me." Delenn said.

Starbuck didn't know Delenn all that well, but knew she was a friendly person, kind, compassionate. When they told her about this, she was hesitant at first, but then realized that, if she was truly to be free of her childhood pain, she had to confront this. They brought her to a Minbari temple, which was so old that Starbuck wondered if it was older than the Colonies themselves.

She drank some kind of tonic that streamed, and a chill ran down her body as it made its way through her digestive system. Delenn took the carafe from her and drank some of the potion as well, then led her through a passageway into an open area and towards a bench…where a vision overtook her.

She saw herself as a child again, in her father's dingy apartment in Delphi. It was hot and stuffy, and the power had been cut again. Her parents were arguing behind her, her mother shouting at her father about something that she couldn't make out. She was eight at the time, and saw herself playing the piano, dressed in a raggedy shirt and torn pants.

"Why are you playing the piano?" Delenn asked.

"To drown out the noise of the argument." Starbuck asked.

Starbucks's parents came down stairs and continued the argument, each getting more and more agitated as it went on. Her mother was a big, blond haired woman who was very muscular. It was in sharp contrast to her father, who was tall, but thin, and his hands seemed like that of an artist. As they spared in the room, young Kara Thrace continued to play the piano, seemingly oblivious to the argument.

Suddenly, the mother walked to the piano, took the cover and slammed it down on her daughter's fingers, yelling, "Will you shut the hell up with that frakking piano!" Delenn cried out, "In Valen's name!" and shook at the sudden act of violence. "I can't believe any mother could ever do that to their own child."

Starbuck's eyes welled with tears, but she stood still, only saying, "She did, and that's not the worst of it." As the young child cried, clutching her fingers, the mother slapped her in the face hard and roared, "Suck it up, you bitch! You're such a wimp!" Her father tried to go to Kara, but her mother manhandled him away from her and continued with the argument.

The visions shocked Delenn, as she saw several more scenes of Kara's mother beating her over very trivial things, and it shook her to the bone. Being a mother herself, the thought of doing any kind of harm to her son David repulsed her. Seeing Kara's mother do it without hesitation cut deep inside her, so much so that it made seeing friends of hers die in front of her seem relatively easy to accept.

When it was over, the two women were sitting on a bench, embracing each other. "Thank you," Starbuck said through a sob, which Delenn would have replied to if not for her own sobbing. They sat there for a while until the doors opened and one of the young acolytes came in to inquire about the two of them. "Yes, we're fine, after a fashion." Delenn said, wiping tears out of her eyes and helping a clearly emotionally drained Starbuck to her feet. Shakily, they walked out of the room and back through the temple.

Turval was there and when he saw the look on their faces, he immediately wondered if he had erred. Starbuck broke loose of Delenn and extended her hand, which Turval shook. "Thank you, Sech Turval. I feel…cleansed…now. Can I go back to my barracks now?"

"Yes, you may. The transport is waiting as we speak." Turval said gently. Starbuck turned back to Delenn and hugged her, the tears resuming in her eyes as she did so, whispering in her ear, "Thank you, Delenn."

"You're welcome, Kara." Delenn replied, who extended her hand in the traditional Minbari sign of departure with a friend. Starbuck did the same and she turned to leave with Turval.

Her son David walked up to her with two Rangers, saying, "There you are, mother! I was wondering where you had gone off to!"

She looked up at her young son, seventeen years old and so very close to adulthood, and smiled, "I'm okay now, son." She hugged him tight, and the intensity of the embrace surprised him, as she hadn't hugged him like that as a child. "What was that for?" he asked.

Delenn looked up at her son, who achingly looked so much like his father, and said, "Just to let you know that I love you! Now come!" She led him and the other Rangers out of the temple and back to her residence.

Boomer always flinched when Starbuck came into their billet. She hadn't known why Starbuck had gone away that day and missed training, but the teachers hadn't made anything of it. Starbuck sat down in front of Boomer and stared at her for a moment. Boomer looked at her, puzzled at the expression on her face. "So how did it go?" she asked hesitantly.

Instead of replying, Starbuck got up and hugged her. Boomer froze up at first, expecting for a split second an attack from her, given everything that had happened, but soon accepted the embrace. "I forgive you!" said Starbuck, who began to cry. "I've been so cruel to you, for no good reason!"

"Why?" Boomer asked, wondering what prompted this display of affection and emotion.

"Because we're as much to blame for what happened as you are. But you've done so much to help us that I can't blind myself to it anymore."

Boomer's eyes teared up as well, and she returned the embrace, and Starbuck realized that she had regained her old friend, even if this wasn't the exact same old Boomer.


	26. Building An Offensive

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

**Building An Offensive**

Brigadier General (nee Admiral) Nelena Cain was never much for food, but spending time on Earth had made her curious about what Earth cuisine was like. She had eaten her fair share of it in the time she had been on Earth, and she knew she had gained weight. So every morning she joined General Ivanova at a local gym to work off those pounds, since both liked to eat and neither one was exactly an ingénue anymore.

She spent almost every waking hour with Ivanova, from the early morning briefings to wrapping up late night planning sessions. Whenever Ivanova wasn't around, Cain worked with one of Ivanova's trusted staffers. It was clear from the effort being put forth by Earthforce that they considered the defense of the Colonists at Babylon 5 and the liberation of the Colonial worlds a top priority. However, they had to work in secret to avoid the notice of any Cylons that might be on Earth, as well as that of more dangerous threats, like the media, senators, and others with different agendas.

The Interstellar Alliance was also helping out with the efforts, as proven by the frequent visits by Rangers to the headquarters of what was being dubbed "Operation Supernova". It was a long-range plan, and Ivanova and Cain were the ones who were in charge of it.

Ivanova joined her in the commissary line, and they took up a tray and placed silverware and paper napkins on the side and made their way through the line. President Hollifield had set up this special section, and everyone, including the cooks, servers, and cashiers in the commissary, were part of Earthforce, and had the highest security clearance. Ivanova had hand picked the officers and non-coms for this duty, and had made a point of selecting single officers so that they could all be focused on this one goal and not have any outside distractions.

Cain selected some chicken cordon bleu, while Ivanova chose the chicken Parmesan, and they made their selections for their sides as well as their beverages. They took their meals to a corner table where they could talk in relative privacy and sat down to eat.

"One thing's for sure: this is the best military food I've ever eaten!" Cain said, and Ivanova nodded. "I suspect that since they don't have to cook for hundreds or thousands of people, they can spend more time on it."

"Indeed. Hollifield wants this to be as secretive as possible, so we're not taking any chances. So, what do you think of the plans for the new fleet?" Ivanova replied.

"Well, they certainly are impressive! I understand that you had intended to use them against a race called the Drakh?"

Ivanova nodded and added, "They're still around, but since we booted them from the Centauri homeworld, they've been on the run. Emperor Cotto has commanded his fleet to wipe them out, and their chief of staff of the military, General Rhys, has been ruthlessly taking them out. Once we find their homeworld, it's checkmate!"

"Excuse me, what was that? Checkmate?" Cain asked.

Ivanova smiled and said, "It's part of a game called chess. Remind me to teach it to you sometime when we find a few minutes of free time one of these days. Basically, its happens when you move one of your pieces into a position where there is no way for your opponent to free the piece called the king. You capture the king and you win the game."

Cain shook her head and said, "With as much as we have in common, its kind of surprising when you find out we have a lot of differences. Like that sport I watched last night on ISN. I can't remember the name, but they were skating on blades and using sticks…"

"Ice hockey." Ivanova interjected, and Cain nodded, recognizing the name. "It's popular in my home country of Russia, as well as in parts of Europe, North America, and Japan. My older brother used to play it before he went into the military." She shook her head at some memory, then drank her coffee.

"Something?" Cain asked, and Ivanova sighed. "This coming weekend would have been my brother's birthday. He died during the Earth-Minbari War. That's why I'm wearing this uniform instead of being a scholar in art these days."

Cain's eyebrows perked up in surprise and she asked, "You don't seem the artistic type to me, if you don't mind me being so bold."

"Nah, I wasn't much of an artist. I was more into art history and preservation than creating art. My mother, before she died and thereafter my father, sent me to many schools to broaden my studies. Then the war came along and my brother died, so when I graduated from high school, I went into Earthforce Academy instead of the University of Strasbourg, where I had a full scholarship."

Cain asked her, "Any regrets about that choice?"

Ivanova paused, because it had never occurred to her that she might have decided to do something different with her life. After a moment of thought, she shook her head and said, "Nope, no regrets. I'm a creature of fate, as Delenn once told me, so I couldn't avoid this life if I wanted to."

"You know, before I got into the military, I wanted to be a musician. The only reason I went into the military was to get into the reserve officer's corps to pay for my studies at the University of Sagittaron, but then I met my husband and, well, the rest is history." Cain sighed and Ivanova picked up on Cain remembering something about her lost daughter, so she let the rest of meal go by in silence.

After their lunch, they returned to the map room, where a large display of the Colonial system was the centerpiece of the room. All twelve worlds were in one system, with a massive red giant at the center of it. It was an unusual system, with twelve habitable planets orbiting one star. The two main targets indicated on the board were Caprica and Picon, and Ivanova pointed to the latter as the twosome approached the display.

"Its my guess that the Cylons probably have taken over your old military headquarters, so it makes sense to try and take it back from them in the first wave of attacks. Also, from what we saw on Caprica, I get the impression that it's the center of the Cylon effort in the Colonial system. We take that head out and the body will slowly die."

Cain nodded and studied the plans further in silence. The plan was simple: take out the Cylons at those two key planets, then move on from there, working from the inner planets on out to the farthest one, Tauron. Sheridan also was assisting in the planning of Operation Supernova, as well as bringing together resources to pull off what they had in mind.

The shipyards where the new fleet of advanced Whitestar ships was being built, along with advanced Earthforce ships, were located in a world long dead. It had been Hollifield's idea during Drakh plague to construct a shipyard to build new _Excalibur-_class destroyers in orbit around Markab. The race had died out from a plague in 2259, and Hollifield had convinced the Minbari to construct a Ranger base there to help not only protect the history and culture of the Markab race, but to also eventually construct a secret ship yard to be used for an eventual joint Earth Alliance/Interstellar Alliance fleet.

Ivanova had shifted some of the assets to Babylon 5 to upgrade the station as well as the Colonial battlestars _Galactica_ and _Pegasus_. She knew that the president was fighting a hard battle to keep the station open and supplied, but she knew that it was a lost cause. Despite the fact that the Senate knew about the station being used as a refuge for the Colonials, there were many Senators who were ready to cut the station's operating budget and close the place down.

Hollifield kept the political battles away from her, but she knew that if they lost this one, they would be in serious trouble. Delenn was anticipating this, and had begun to make plans to transfer the Colonials to Minbar if necessary. She hoped it would not come to that, but it wasn't looking good.

Ivanova got through the day with Cain, walking her back to her quarters and then heading towards her own. She entered her apartment and sighed as she unzipped her uniform jacket, tossing it on a nearby recliner. She'd already eaten dinner, so she went straight to her bedroom, stripped out of her uniform, and entered the shower to wash off and to clear her mind.

As she toweled off her naked body, she got a look at herself in the mirror. She remembered when she was proud of her body, though she was never one to show it off when she was young. Now she had a small but noticeable potbelly, sagging breasts and a droopy butt, and she sighed as she mourned the days when she could bounce an old fashioned American quarter off her stomach. However, she rallied herself and put on her nightgown, realizing that she had done far more than any runway model or Hollywood actress could ever accomplish.

She knew she would never know romantic love again, but then she realized that she was wrong. As she looked out her window and into the waters of Lake Geneva, she smiled, knowing that the true love of her life was not a person, but a place: Earth. She sat there for a long time in contemplation, until the chill got to her and she pulled up the covers and got into bed. On most nights, she hated going to bed alone, but, on this one, she realized that she was never alone. She smiled as sleep overtook her and she dreamed of Marcus.


	27. Love and Marriage

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

**Love and Marriage**

Commander Saul Tigh had thought that going to Babylon 5 would mean a bit of a break. Whenever he had the time to think about that, he would shake his head and laugh, because things had never been this busy in his entire military career. However, he was having the time of his life, in an odd sort of way.

He hadn't had a drink if weeks, because he simply hadn't had the time to drink water, much less ambrosia or what the Earthers called whiskey. He barely had time to eat, and only did so when looking over reports from the various stations on the ship. He shuttled between _Galactica, Pegasus, _and Babylon 5, and would try and catch a nap or a quick snack in between. He barely had time to sleep, which made his wife, Ellen, even crankier than usual.

She was over on the station, because the accommodations were better over there and she had volunteered to help with the civilian transition to Babylon 5. Saul Tigh was glad his wife had taken the position, because it got her out of his hair.

He had thought her lost in the attacks, but she had somehow escaped Picon when, at the airport, some anonymous person had found her unconscious body and put her on the _Rising Star_. She was found three weeks later by then-Commander William Adama, and brought over to the _Galactica_.

Ever since then, Ellen Tigh had poked and prodded her husband to stand up for himself more, especially after Commander Adama was shot by Galactica-Boomer after she had gotten back from destroying the Cylon base star above Kobol. He had made some bad decisions during that time, but when Adama had recovered enough to take command, Tigh wasn't read the riot act for his blunders.

Now, though, for some reason, he felt confident in his abilities. Sure, Gaeta had turned out to be a Cylon, but the crew in the Combat Information Center had come together and made up for the loss. As he walked into the CIC, he actually had to hide a smile as he watched his crew work.

It struck him as kind of funny that it was _his_ crew now, and that _Galactica _was _his_ ship these days. Granted, Admiral Adama still used this as his flagship, but Adama was busy these days coordinating with the Earth Alliance personnel on Babylon 5, and had given Tigh full control of the reins to his old ship.

Tigh went to the table in the center of the room and began looking over the reports waiting for him. Today they would begin the transport of the new Vipers from Babylon 5, which Deck Chief Galen Tyrol had been in charge of constructing with the assistance of B5's maintenance people. They were once down to less than three-dozen Vipers, but now had a full compliment of Vipers, upgraded with Earth Alliance technology as well as weaponry. The original Viper pilots were having a blast training with them as they went through maneuvers with the Earthforce pilots assigned to his ship.

Roughly half his crew compliment these days were Earthforce regulars, as was his executive officer, Captain John Matheson. At first, Tigh was wary of the telepathic officer, but he had come to take Matheson's abilities for granted, as they had quickly gelled into a solid team. Matheson, Tigh had to admit, was a damn fine second-in-command, and his track record aboard the _Excalibur_ during the Drakh crisis said as much.

Matheson was over at Petty Officer, 2nd Class, Dee Dualla's communications post, coordinating the fighter exercises with the pilots. Dualla was still getting used to the new systems, but she had adapted much more quickly than Tigh had thought she would, and that went for the entire crew as they got used to the integrated systems.

The systems were designed to be highly resistant to the Cylon virus, but Tigh was still worried about it. Adama and he had insisted on a way to isolate computer systems aboard the Colonial battlestars if an attack took place, and the Earthforce personnel had reluctantly agreed to do so. Having President Hollifield on his side did help with that matter, though, so his mind was at ease in that regard.

He settled down and began to study the reports, listening to the pilot chatter with one ear as he read about the improvements made to the Raptor heavy transports. He didn't even think once about alcohol, or even his wife, for that matter.

Ellen Tigh was miserable. She sat at the bar in the Sky High lounge, staring at a mural behind the bartender, which was of some skyline from Earth. She didn't know where it was, since she had never been there, but had overheard that it might have been some city called Chi-town, or something like that. All she knew was that she wouldn't find living in a city known for its winds to be that appealing.

She gave her husband a passing thought, then snorted at it. He was too busy for her these days for her to control, and the fact that he had sent her over to the station for the dumb job he had "volunteered" her for irked at her. She thought she had made progress with him, but, in her mind, Saul was till Adama's bitch.

Her mood picked up when an attractive man came over to sit beside her at the bar. It would surely be scandalous for her husband to have her been seen with Tom Zarek, but she didn't give a damn. If Saul didn't give a damn about her, why should she care whom she was seen with? Besides, as she smiled as Tom said hello to her, she had much more in mind for the presidential candidate.

"So what's a beautiful woman like you sitting here all by yourself, drinking whatever the hell your drinking?" Zarek said.

Ellen Tigh laughed and replied, "It's something called brivari, from Centauri Prime. Kinda like ambrosia, except smoother. So how goes the campaign?"

Zarek ordered some brivari himself, then paused as he sipped from the alien alcohol, and nodded in approval. "Good stuff! It goes well. Roslin's support has really slipped since she was cured of her cancer. Kinda ironic, isn't it? Having your life saved and having your political career damaged by it."

Ellen smiled and drew closer to Zarek. "Roslin's way over her head, and she's ripe for the taking. Speaking of that, someone else is ripe for the taking." She leaned in closer and kissed him on the lips.

Zarek was taken aback for a moment in surprise, but smiled at the gesture. "Wonder what your old man would think of this?"

"Frak him! The question is: your place or mine?" Ellen said, raising an eyebrow. Zarek thought for a moment and said, "Yours. Mine's kinda messy at the moment." Ellen laughed as she took him by the hand and led him out.

One thing was for sure; Zarek drunk was better than was a sober Saul in the sack. Ellen could still feel Zarek inside her and smiled at the thought of more sex when he woke up. Normally she was annoyed when her lovers fell asleep on her, but given the kind of schedule that Zarek was on these days, she didn't mind a bit. But she was still in need of some loving, so she slid him out of her and slid down his body to wake him back up in a highly pleasurable way.

Chief Galen Tyrol loved his crew on the _Galactica_, and wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. However, if he _had_ to trade them for another crew, then the people from Babylon 5 would be his first choice. He hadn't thought they would be able to construct new Vipers and make them space worthy as fast as they had, but they had been able to accomplish just that. Now, the Mark II's were used as backup fighters these days, as both Colonial battlestars had full compliments of what were being called Viper IX fighters these days. They got the nickname "Niners" after a sports team that Galen had never heard of, something about a city called San Francisco and a sport called "football". He had seen a clip of it while over on Babylon 5 during a break, and wondered why they called it that, when a foot hardly ever met the ball.

He sat in the bar with the female version of himself on the station, a husky Mexican female named Fabiana Cortez. She was a strong, stocky woman, taller by an inch to Tyrol. Some people might call her "fat", but they wouldn't dare say that to her face, because Tyrol thought she would probably break their heads open and scoop out their brains for pet food. She was focused on another version of football, which she called the "real" football, as they sat in the corner watching a match between two clubs from her native Mexico.

Tyrol thought it must be a very important match, as the America verses Chivas Guadalajara contest was played in Nueva Azteca Stadium, which, according to the English commentator, sat close to 125,000 people. Fabby, for short, was out of uniform, instead clad in the traditional red and white striped jersey of Chivas, while Tyrol sat in his regular uniform. They were part of a crowd of Mexicans on the station, with some other Hispanics mixed in and speaking in a strange language that Tyrol had found out the be called "espanyol". Since he had enough problem with his own language, he let Fabby translate for him.

The match didn't go well for Fabby's team, because, much to the delight of the yellow-clad fans in the bar, Chivas took it on the chin from their America rivals, 5-2. Fabby was bummed out as Tyrol walked her back to her quarters in Blue sector, which was near his own on the station. "Sorry about the match, Fabby." Tyrol said, surprised at how hard Fabby was taking the loss.

Fabby wiped the tears from her eyes and said, "I know you don't understand, but we haven't beaten those bastards in five years, and they've knocked us out of the playoffs each of those years. I thought we had the team this year to beat them, but…" she sighed and added as they arrived at her place. "Would you like to come in?"

Tyrol hadn't expected to be jumped on as soon as he got into her place, which was ornately decorated with items from her native homeland, most of it revolving around her favorite football team. As soon as he turned around, she embraced him and gave him a huge kiss on the lips. When her lips moved off his, he managed to say, "What was that for?"

"I've had a crush on you ever since you got here, and I thought I would act upon it for once!" she smiled, and Galen could smell the tequila on her breath. He'd had a few shots of it himself, as well as few steins of something called "cervesa", so he wasn't entirely sober himself. "With the way of the universe these days, you have to grab what you want sometimes." She kissed him passionately again, and he returned the kiss as well.

"Well, when you put it that way…" he said as he returned the favor. Then came a mad scramble of taking off clothes and heading to the bedroom, where Fabby pushed him onto the bed and straddled him to ride him like a bronco. Galen didn't know how good he was in his inebriated state, but he must have impressed her as she yelled out a lot of phrases in her native language.

She collapsed upon him after the climax, and kept on speaking what he had later heard was called "Spanish" by the non-Hispanics on the station. She dozed off on top of him, but since he didn't really want to go anywhere at the moment, he didn't even bother rolling her stocky body off of him. Besides, he thought, she's very well proportioned.

His former lover, the _Galactica_-Boomer, came to his mind, as well as that of Cally, the one who had, much to his shock, been revealed to have been a Cylon as well. He had forgiven Cally of shooting Boomer, never realizing until later that Cally had done it to prevent the Colonials from conducting experiments on her. Now, he didn't know what to think, except that if Fabby was a Cylon, then the Colonials were really screwed.

However, he didn't think she was, because he didn't think there was anyone quite like Fabby. She was the best mechanic he had ever known, and had more than impressed him with her ability to get the new Vipers constructed well ahead of time. She had told him when he asked about her intense work ethic about the derisive remarks that the "gringos" used to make about "lazy greasers" who always seemed to procrastinate. With the way the heavily Hispanic compliment of her maintenance team working like mad on his project, he'd hate to see what those "gringos" called work ethic.

The one thing that he had discovered about her was that as much as she worked hard, she partied harder. She didn't whore herself around or anything like that, but she was a fixture after work at the bar, owned by her sister Isabella, and called "Babylonia Mexicana" for some reason. On this evening, she had practically dragged Tyrol to watch the match, and, now that she was in his arms, Tyrol was very glad she had done so.

Fabby stirred and awoke, looking at him and sleepily smiling at him. "Buenos noches, senor Tyrol!" she said seductively, as she moved up his body to kiss him. Tyrol had no idea what she had just said, so he just said, "Hi." She smiled, slid over to cuddle him from his side, and whispered into his ear, "When this is all over, I'm taking you back to Mexico and teaching you Spanish. What do you think of that?"

He looked at her and said, "Sounds good to me!" She smiled at him, then grabbed the back of his head and pulled him in for another kiss, which led to more lovemaking that went deep into the night.


	28. Politics, Religion, and Her

**SPOILER ALERT: The following chapter has spoilers for the second season of Battlestar Galactica**

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

**Politics, Religion, and Her**

Laura Roslin knew that Tom Zarek was having an affair with Ellen Tigh, as did most of the Colonials on Babylon 5. That being said, the common knowledge wasn't hurting Zarek in terms of popularity. If anything, it helped him, because Commander Saul Tigh wasn't exactly looked on fondly because of his declaration of martial law during Adama's recovery from being shot.

The Quorum of Twelve was divided along political lines these days, as five had joined in support of fellow Quorum member Zarek, who represented Sagittaron, and the other six in support of Roslin. The proceedings went smoothly enough, but the underlying tensions were there, as the election campaign was closing in on its start. Roslin didn't know if she would win, but she knew that if Zarek won, anything was possible.

It was after the adjournment of a session of the Quorum that brought a rather interesting surprise in the form of Commander Saul Tigh sitting in the office of Laura Roslin. As she entered her office, she was surprised that the commander got to his feet and saluted her, because she knew that he didn't have much regard for her or her authority. So when she returned the salute and asked him to sit, Roslin's mind wondered why Tigh was here.

"Let's cut to the chase, Commander. You don't like me and I don't like you. So why are you here?"

Tigh nodded and said, "I never said I didn't _like_ you, just that I didn't think you were capable of the job. However, I have reason to believe now that you might be good enough to be president."

"Because if Zarek wins, he might just have you tried for imposing martial law. Right?"

Tigh sighed and replied, "I'm not worried about that. If it's to be, it'll be. However, I don't want that son of a bitch winning anyway."

"Because he's sleeping with your wife?"

Tigh laughed and said dismissively, "Hell, he can have her! Ever since we got here, I've been busy with affairs on _Galactica_, and she's not had time to do her prodding of me. Believe me, _I'm_ the one who's happiest with current arrangements."

He leaned forward and added, "I have an offer I'd like to make. I don't know much about politics, but I think it could help you out a lot in your campaign against Zarek."

"What's that?" Roslin asked, intrigued at what Tigh was saying and slightly baffled by all of this.

Tigh took a breath and said, "If I offer to apologize for my actions and the imposition of martial law, and say that it was talking with you that convinced me to ask you for forgiveness as well as that of the populace."

Roslin didn't believe he was sorry for a second, and she said so. However, he surprised her by pulling out of his uniform a pocket version of the Sacred Scrolls. "Shortly after we met the Earthers, I had a talk with Adama. I asked him why he changed his mind about you. What he said got through to me, and, over the course of the last several weeks, I've come to realize that I've been wrong about a lot of things.

He opened the book and looked through it, adding, "I've been reading this book a lot on my downtime. I mainly did it to give me an excuse to avoid my wife, but, as time went on, I started understanding some things."

Roslin wasn't sure what to think about this as she asked, "Like what?" She was surprised again when Tigh started to get emotional.

"I was scared, Madam President. Scared of dying at the hands of the Cylons. Scared that we were going to be wiped out at any second by them. Did I ever tell you that I served in the First Cylon War?"

Roslin nodded and said, "I remember Adama saying something like that once."

"I started out as a deck hand, long ago." He said, and then laughed shortly as he added, "Much like Galen Tyrol, the guy who built the Blackbird, I rose to become deck chief." His face clouded over as he began to remember some difficult events in his past. "I managed to survive two Cylon attacks that destroyed the ships I was serving on. Then I got yanked into officer school and being assigned to pilot Vipers, which didn't help any. By all rights, I should have been flying a desk behind the lines."

"The war must have really affected you. Is that why you got out of the service after the war?"

"Partly. They dismissed me, and I hooked on to a freighter as a deck hand, barely eeking out an existence. Those were hard times, Madam President, and I became an alcoholic. Then I met Bill."

"I remember he said something about meeting you on a freighter once." Roslin said.

"Yeah, we hit it off and became friends. Hell, he always claimed that he'd get a battlestar one day, and, by Gods, he did it! When he went back into the service, he dragged me in with him, and we've been inseparable ever since."

She was stunned by all of this. Clearly she hadn't expected Tigh to come into her office and expose his soul like this. The political side of her was looking for ways to exploit this, but her religious side, which had grown exponentially since the holocaust, was tugging at her heart to help him. Ever since her spiritual guide, the priestess Elosha, had died on Kobol, she had come to realize that there was a spiritual vacuum inside the fleet.

By the time they were done, Tigh was clearly a changed man. It was a very emotional conversation, and both were in tears by the end of it. However, both had also come to an understanding and a friendship had been born that day.

Admiral William Adama didn't really think this was wise on the president's part, nor on the part of his friend, Saul Tigh. However, he also realized that this was necessary.

An emotional Tigh stood at the lectern, in front of the array of Colonial media, and made a heartfelt apology. Adama knew what he was going to say, but the sincerity and emotion that came from his friend surprised him, and he found that he had to brush aside a tear or two during the ceremony, managing to hide it cleverly by pretending to straighten his hair. He thought he fooled the media, but the smile coming from Roslin said that he hadn't fooled her.

"I reacted badly to the situation, and I made some mistakes. Mistakes that led to some civilian deaths, deaths that never should have happened. I cannot ask for your forgiveness, but I can ask for your understanding." Tigh said.

When it was over, Tigh saluted Roslin, and the president returned the salute. Adama turned to leave, but stopped short when Tigh began to take questions from the media. This wasn't what was supposed to happen, and, at first, he thought that the emotion had overcome his friend's better judgment. However, as Tigh answered question after question, he began to notice something inside of his old friend: strength.

Later on, they sat in his office aboard the station. It was a brief meeting, because Tigh was due to return to _Galactica_ in an hour. "You've changed, Saul." Adama said.

"Have I? Why, I guess I have!" Tigh laughed, then grew serious. "I have you and the president to thank for it."

"Me?" Adama asked.

"I was scared, and I damn well knew you were as well. However, you handled it far better than I did, Bill."

"I don't know about that, Saul. Disposition had something to do with that, I suppose. It may also be the fact that I never thought we'd ever see Earth."

Tigh was brought up short by this confession. "I knew you were lying when you said you knew where it was, but I always figured that you hoped we'd get there."

"I was in denial. To be honest, old friend, I always expected that we would never make it. But I had to be strong for the crew, because they expected the old man to have the answers." Adama confessed.

He added, "That's why I changed my mind about Roslin. She had faith, where I didn't."

"You know, I used to think that all that religious stuff was fraked-up crap, but there may be something to it after all." Tigh said.

Adama nodded, adding, "The Minbari, I've learned, have a saying. 'Faith manages'. It was Delenn who told me that. Damned thing is, she's right."

"Maybe Roslin's our Delenn. Now all we need is our own John Sheridan and we'd be good to go."

Adama snorted and said, "Well, don't look at me! He's the one who got all the looks!" The two old friends laughed as they moved on to business.

Ellen Tigh drank from her glass of something called blackberry schnapps, which came from a place called Germany. She had no idea where this world was, but she liked the taste of the alcohol. After Tom Zarek clicked off the monitor, she poured him one as well, seeing that he needed it.

"You know, I hate this stuff, but Senator Cally down on Earth sent it up as part of a care package." Zarek said as he drank the stuff. "Good thing she sent along plenty of other alcohol to go along with it."

Ellen smiled and said, "She's quite a bitch, isn't she? Maybe Roslin can learn a few things from her, but only after she loses to you in the election!"

"Indeed! Looks like your husband has been busy!" Zarek said.

"Soon-to-be _ex-_husband, thank you very much. He's always been a weakling. Far as I can tell, Roslin's using him to get some sympathy points from the people."

Zarek nodded and added, "I don't think it'll work. People no longer consider her to be the religious icon that she used to be. It's a shame, really, but that's how it goes in politics and religion."

Ellen came around the bar and walked into her lover's embrace. "Who gives a damn about religion!" she whispered as she kissed him.

When they pulled apart, Zarek added, "Why don't we make some sweet music instead?", looking over to the bedroom in his suite. Ellen smiled and let her lover lead her to the bedroom.


	29. Going to the Chapel

**Note: Chapter does contain second season spoilers to Battlestar Galactica**

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

**Going To The Chapel**

Na'Toth was studying her copy of the Book of G'Kar when Starbuck came into the temple of Valen, called "The Chapel" by the Earthers, for some unknown reason. Starbuck sat down on a bench nearby and pulled out a couple of idols from a pocket in her Ranger uniform. The stocky, muscular Narn glanced at the human, then went back to her reading. It was when the Narn coughed from a tickle in her throat that she got the notice of the young human.

"I'm sorry, Na'Toth. I didn't realize you were in here. I'll leave if you would like to be alone."

The Narn woman waved her off and said, "No, it's ok. I apologize if I startled you." She pointed to the icons in Starbuck's hands and asked, "What are those?"

"Icons. They are of two of our Gods: Apollo and Aphrodite. Aphrodite is our goddess of love and beauty, while Apollo is the god of healing."

Na'Toth nodded, adding, "I've heard that your gods are similar to those of the ancient Greeks on Earth. We had our own gods like that, in ancient times. Then the Centauri came along and everything changed."

Starbuck noticed the hint of bitterness in her voice and asked, "So you still have hard feelings towards them?"

Na'Toth got up and sat down beside the human. Starbuck backed a little away from her, not only because she was an alien, but also a taller and more physically imposing woman than she was. "Yes, I still do. It's something I'm working on, but forgiveness is a hard thing, especially after all that's happened."

"Who was your mentor?" Starbuck asked.

"His name was G'kar. He was a great man. Flawed, oh yes! He always had a thing for human women like you!" Na'toth laughed at the memory, then grew serious as she added, "But when the Shadows came along, he began to change."

"What do you mean?"

"Before the Shadows came along, he was a bit of a hedonist. Sure, he was a follower of G'Quan, who was a founder of one of our religions, but he also loved to drink, eat, and fornicate. Then when they returned, he realized that it was as G'Quan had foretold, and he began to change.

"I wasn't around when the change happened. I had been reassigned by G'Kar to be his eyes and ears on our homeworld, but when I saw him again years later, he was dramatically different. In the years that followed, I began to read the book he had written. Ironically enough, he became a religious icon, and there are followers of his movement on my homeworld these days."

"But you don't follow his teachings?" Starbuck asked.

"Well, in a way, I do. When he died, he willed me his copy of the Book of G'Quan, and since I have started reading it, I've begun to realize something that he once told me. He once said, 'We are all connected, in ways that we will probably never fully understand.' When he rescued me from imprisonment on the Centauri homeworld, he told me that I should look for these connections, and that would bring me greater peace.

"I didn't believe him at first, but as I studied the religions of various world, I began to see those connections. Makes me wonder if there is a God or are Gods after all."

Starbuck sniffed and said, "They're just a vision of the Vorlons."

Na'Toth had heard from Earth Alliance president Garrison Hollifield about what had happened on Kobol. They were long time friends, and Hollifield had asked the Narn Ranger to keep an eye on her as she and her fellow Colonials trained. She thought for a moment, then said, "And who did the Vorlons believe in?"

Starbuck looked at her and asked, "Excuse me?"

"The Vorlons aren't the all-powerful beings that they pretended to be. Highly advanced and manipulative, sure, but they started out just like we did eons ago. Before they evolved into beings of light and energy, they had a culture of their own, and surely they had their own religion and gods as well.

"Look, Kara, I had the same questions about our own gods when I was younger. I used to only believe in chance, dismissing off the old religons as foolishness. However, I have learned that I was wrong."

Na'Toth pointed up to the imposing statue of Valen in the chapel and asked Starbuck, "How much do you know about him?"

"Valen? Only that he was sort of a messiah to the Minbari, much like that Jesus person was to some of the Earthers I have met. Why?"

Na'Toth leaned closer to Starbuck and whispered, "Do you want to know a secret?"

"What" Starbuck asked.

"Valen was a human. Well, actually he was part human and part Minbari."

Starbuck looked at the Narn for a moment, then burst out laughing. "You're kidding! That's a great joke, Na'Toth! I didn't think you were a comedian!"

"I'm serious. You know that Delenn is part human and part Minbari, don't you?"

Starbuck nodded, then it hit her. "You don't mean…"

Na'Toth returned the nod and added, "He changed in a similar way that she had changed. He was known to the Earthers as Jeffery Sinclair. He was the first commander of Babylon 5, before Sheridan took over after the death of the Earth president Luis Santiago." She told the whole story of how Sinclair had gone from being a mere fighter pilot, to being the commander of Babylon 5, to eventually becoming the head of the new version of the Rangers.

"When the time came to go back in time to Babylon 4 to become Valen, he transformed into a human-Minbari hybrid, which is why they say he is 'a Minbari not born of Minbari'. I learned this because Valen, shortly before he was to pass on, left behind three envelopes. One to Delenn, one to a Ranger known as Marcus, and one to himself. He subsequently gave the one he had written to himself to Hollifield, who was his assistant here on Minbar at the time, then went back in time to play out his role."

Starbuck looked up at Valen and said aloud a writing of the ancient prophetess Pythia, _"All this has happened before. All this will happen again."_

"Excuse me?" Na'Toth asked, and Starbuck told of the prophesy of Pythia, especially of the occurrence of the number twelve.

"Funny, the Minbari have a strange fascination with the numbers three and nine. Three and nine add up to twelve. Reckon there's something to it?" Starbuck asked of the older Narn.

Na'Toth looked up at the statue of her old friend, thought for a moment, and said, "With the way this universe works, maybe there is. Maybe he knew something about it." Na'Toth pointed up to Valen's statue. "They once said that he was to return one day. Babylon 4 did return years later, appearing out of nowhere, heavily damaged. A race known as the Tak'Cha had tried salvaging it, but weren't able to save it. During the encounter, they were able to find the final recording that Valen had made."

She leaned closer to Starbuck and whispered, "Would you like to see it?" Starbuck looked around to see if anyone was around, then said, "Sure!"

Na'Toth took her to another temple nearby, and she found where she had hid the data crystal years ago when she stumbled upon the recording in her studies as she trained to become a Ranger. She put the data crystal into a reader, and the display came up, showing an ancient Minbari standing up in an empty room.

The Minbari said, "My name is Valen... and I have served my people like no other. I led them into fire... into darkness... into death... and they followed me without hesitation. They acclaim my victories and hail me as a great leader. They speak of my successes as if they are as infinite as the stars. And yet, for all that I've accomplished... I lie awake, listening to the screams of the dead and dying, those who are already gone, and those are yet to be born. A few words from me could avert the Earth-Minbari conflict. A warning to Delenn or Dukhat... But without the war, there would be no Babylon 4 and no Babylon 5. There would be no rallying point against the Darkness... and the Shadows would win, now and a thousand years from now. I cannot deviate from the circle of which I am a part. I am the beginning of the story, as Zathras said... and a prisoner of it. I dare not change the end. Still... it's been a good life... lives... over all. Delenn, Catherine, Susan, Michael... if any of you see this somehow.. don't cry for me. For in the final analysis, I've always been too hard on myself. I'll be content to let history judge me, and all that has been done in Valen's name. And as for me... I've received my own reward, because I've found her. At long last... I've found... her."

"Whose _her_?" Starbuck asked.

"Her name was Catherine Sakai.", a voice said from behind them. It was Sech Turval, who had a bemused smile on his face. "It seems that humans aren't the only ones with a habit of sneaking around and looking into things that they aren't supposed to know about."

Starbuck expected to be in trouble, but Sech Turval added as he addressed her, "You needn't worry, Kara. You would have learned about this in the fullness of time, anyway."

Starbuck didn't know what to make of that, and asked, "Why would you have told me that anyway?"

"Because you are special. In everything you've done here, you show the skills to become a truly outstanding Ranger. You also share a lot in common with our esteemed Valen, once known as Jeffery Sinclair."

Another voice spoke from behind her, and Starbuck was surprised to see Delenn entering the temple. "It was once said that Valen was like the castes, but not _of _them. You are similar, in your own way, Kara Thrace."

Starbuck looked around at all three people in the room and said, "You're nothing thinking that I am some sort of second coming or something?"

Delenn shook her head and said, "No, not like that, but, from what we've seen, you've got the kind of personality inside of you to become the next Entil'Zha."

Starbuck was stunned by this statement. "No way! No way am I ready for a job like that! I just got here!"

"I didn't say you would become the leader of the Rangers _now_, Kara, but the Rangers will need leadership in the future. Sheridan is dying, and the rest of us are getting older. I have an idea of who I want to succeed my husband when the time comes, but I want you to succeed them when their time comes as well."

Starbuck had an idea of who this successor to Sheridan would be, and said, "Do you think she'd take the job?"

"I'm sure she will, and when I tell her of who I want to succeed her in the future, she'll be much more likely to accept the position. She sees you as the daughter she never had, even though she never has said it to us."

Starbuck missed Ivanova, she realized. It had been Ivanova who had recommended that Starbuck join the Rangers, but she had no idea that she would ever be more than just another Ranger. She had learned that it was Sheridan and Delenn's desire that the president of the Interstellar Alliance and the Entil'zha of the Rangers be of different races, preferably Minbari and human.

Late that night, as she slept, she dreamed of walking to the temple. In there, she met Valen. He said to her, "You must accept the fate that is before you, Kara Thrace, much like I did long ago."

"Why?" she asked.

Valen had changed, and was now Jeffery Sinclair, who was dressed in the version of the Ranger uniform worn by the Entil'zha. "Because the One actually refers to three people. I was the beginning of the story, Delenn and Sheridan were the middle of the story, and you, Kara Thrace, and the ending of the story, which leads into the next great story."

Starbuck looked at him and asked, "But why me? I'm just a Viper pilot!"

"As I was just a Starfury pilot once, long ago." Sinclair said, this time dressed in his old Starfury fighter pilot uniform. "I never asked to become Valen, Kara, but I had to accept my role and do what was required of me. In order for the future to become what we want it to be, you must accept your role in what is to come."

Starbuck was about to say something, but the room changed. She was in a Starfury, in some sort of battle. Minbari ships were attacking her, and she realized that she was at the Battle of the Line. She heard over the communications link, "Alpha leader! You've got a Minbari on your tail!"

She had no idea where the voice inside her came from, but she heard herself say, "Mitchell, stay in formation! It might be a…" She saw a plethora of jump points blossoming before her, and her instrument panel indicated a massive jump point opening behind her. "Oh my God, it's a trap!"

"Mitchell! Break off! Break off!" She saw Mitchell's ship break apart from Minbari fire. As she looked on in shock, her whole squadron was wiped out. It was then that her Starfury was struck by an energy beam.

"Aft stabilizers hit. Weapons systems at zero. Defensive grid at zero. Power plant near critical mass. Minbari weapons systems locking on.", the computer said tonelessly.

She managed to reestablish control of the Starfury and had managed to turn it back towards the looming warship. Only that it wasn't a Minbari cruiser, but a Cylon basestar she was heading towards. "Not like this! Not like this!" Starbuck shouted, "If I'm going out, I'm taking you bastards with me!" She spoke to the computer, ordering, "Target main cruiser! Set for full velocity ram! Afterburners on my mark….mark!"

As the afterburners kicked in, she realized that she was no longer in the Starfury, but in her old Viper, which was on a collision course with the basestar. As she came close to hitting it, a beam of light overcame her, and she cried out.

When she came to, she was bound to some sort of crossbar. The ropes were tight around her wrists, so much so that she could feel a trickle of blood on her arm. Several robed figures stood before her. They held up a triangular ornament of some kind, and it glowed. She looked at them, wondering what they would do next.

One of them took of her hood, and, much to her shock, it was Sue-Shaun, the member of the Caprica Buccaneers pyramid team that had survived on Caprica because they had been high-altitude training when the Cylon attacks took place. The stocky black woman looked at her and asked, "Do you know me?"

"Yes! Why are you here?"

Sue-Shaun looked over to another hooded figure, and they advanced towards her. When they removed the hood, Starbuck was shocked to be looking at a much younger version of herself, which said to her, "You are the nexus, Kara Thrace. You will help overthrow the mechanical Cylons and free those under their control. You will help create a better future."

Before she could say anything, another flash overcame her, and she was back in the temple of Valen on the Ranger training compound. A tall Minbari walked towards her and spoke to her gently, "It is said that to dream in the city of sorrows is to dream of a better future."

Starbuck asked, "Who are you?"

"My name was Dukhat. I once led my people long ago. I once dreamed of a better future for my race. I know that you dream of a better one for your own. Continue to dream, Kara, because you dream for us all!"

Starbuck woke up with a start in her billet alone, as Boomer had been taken over to the infirmary because of her pregnancy. She sat up in her bed, clad only in her sports bra and her sports panties that she always wore to bed, and looked around the room. She rubbed her eyes and looked out the window, only seeing the mountains off in the distance. The first rays of the sun began to peak over the mountains, and she knew that her alarm would go off shortly.

She turned it off and made her way to the shower. As the warm spray of water ran over her body, she tried to make sense of the dream of last night. Something told her that she would be thinking of it for a long time to come.


	30. Like Grandfather, Like Grandson

**Note: This chapter does contain possible season two spoilers for Battlestar Galactica**

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Thirty**

**Like Grandfather, Like Grandson**

Kevin Vacit did not see himself as an evil man, nor did he see himself as a good man either. He was, he felt, just a man who had to do what he must for not only his people, but for the Cylons as well. As he passed the warehouse where the new clones were being grown, he sighed as he thought about all those lost in the holocaust. He would have liked to have gotten more samples from the twelve worlds, but the Cylons did what they had to do to get their revenge on the Colonials. Now, as he walked into the administrative building, he felt that he was closing in on what was needed to accomplish the goal of repopulating the Colonial worlds with the humanoid models.

Inside, he met up with the woman who had done so much to aid in his efforts. Despite being near fifty now, Talia Winters was still a striking beauty that could turn heads. She wore a form-fitting red dress with black trim that fit her slim body like a glove. As she rose to greet him in his office, Vacit believed that Talia could lie ten years off her age and get someone to believe it.

"Talia, so wonderful to see you again! So how is our patient?" Vacit asked her.

"He's still sedated, but he's fully recovered from his injuries when the mundanes attacked his fighters. Shame that the remaining Black Omegas didn't make it."

Vacit nodded, adding, "Well the mundanes are only living on borrowed time, and when we strike them on Earth, they will be unable to withstand us!"

"You won't…nuke them, will you?" Winters asked.

"No, my dear, we mustn't harm those of our kind! When the time comes, we'll have enough forces to overwhelm the Earth orbital defense grid and allow our ships to begin the invasion. Nothing on Earth can withstand the might of our Centurions! They may take out one or two at a time, but when they come at them en masse, nothing will be able to stop them!" Vacit replied, and his eyes gleamed with joy at the thought of overthrowing Earth's government.

Vacit took a moment to compose himself and looked at his associate, and part of him wished he were young enough to create some more telepaths with this striking beauty. However, he simply asked her, "So can we revive him now?"

Talia smiled and said, "Yes, sir! We most certainly can!"

Alfred Bester awoke on a hard bed, with soft glowing lights in his face. While the lights were not exactly blinding, their glare did bother him, and he slowly raised his ungloved hand to his face to shield his eyes.

"Lower the lights!" a voice said, and the lights dimmed above him. Bester seemed to recognize the voice, but he didn't think it could possibly be who he thought it was.

He slowly turned his head to his right and looked at an ancient man. He recognized him from ages ago, when he was a six-year-old child being brought before him one night for some unknown reason.

"Greetings, Mr. Bester. My name is Kevin Vacit.", said the old man, whose skin was just as leathery as they had been so many years ago.

"You must be joking! Vacit must be long dead!" Bester replied, but he felt the same kind of mind scan that Vacit had done so many years ago. He looked at the former director of the Psi Corps with his mouth open; shocked that Vacit was somehow still alive.

"How? How are you still alive?" Bester mumbled out, and Vacit smiled.

"It's a long story involving Vorlons. I found my way to this world and found secrets that the Vorlons wished us not to have. Despite their best efforts, they have not kept me from helping to further my cause." Vacit said.

Bester nodded, "So what good will this do? The Psi Corps is dead! That bastard Hollifield with his bitch boss of a Luchenko killed it, and Sheridan and Garibaldi helped out! Our people are scattered to the wind, divided among themselves, and at the mercy of the mundanes!"

"That may be the case, Mr. Bester, now, but I have been here for many years, planning to give our people their rightful place in the universe. We do have some help though." Vacit gestured to someone Bester didn't recognize, and the doors opened to the room. Entering the room was a huge robot of a kind that Bester hadn't seen since reading some pulp science fiction novels for a class project as a kid.

"What the hell is that thing?" Bester asked, and the Cylon Centurion turned to him and extended his hand, which morphed into a pistol. Bester didn't even move, as he sensed that Vacit wasn't going to order his execution after having him abducted from his prison.

"This is a Cylon Centurion, one of a race of mechanical beings known as Cylons. They are our allies, and they are important in achieving our ultimate goal of domination of the mundanes."

Bester studied the Centurion curiously, impressed with the design of the machine. He looked to Vacit and asked, "So what do you plan to do with these Centurions?"

Vacit's smile grew wider and he told him, "I intend to unleash them upon the mundanes on Earth, especially in Geneva, and let them play havoc. We'll bring back the Psi Corps, enslave the mundanes who aren't wiped out by the Centurions, and take our rightful place as masters of the human race!

"The Cylons were created by humans taken from Earth centuries ago by the Vorlons. Why they did that, I do not know, but they created a culture vastly different than the one we had on Earth. The Colonials, as they are known, created robots later to be known as Cylons to do the work that was too dangerous or just beneath them. Over time, the Cylons rebelled against their creators and this led to a war in which both sides almost destroyed each other.

"The Cylons declared an armistice and began to search out for a new homeworld. In their search, they found this world, where I had landed, roughly twenty years ago. We came to an understanding and soon we began to plot an attack on the Colonial homeworlds."

Bester didn't know what to think about all of this, but he figured that all of this was necessary to the inevitable goal of taking over Earth. So he listened with half an ear as his mind searched out the hallway which Vacit was leading him down. With the exception of Talia Winters, they were alone. They came to a doorway, and Vacit placed one hand on the doorknob, saying before he opened it, "In here, Mr. Bester, is where it all began for us. The beginning of our triumphant return to Earth!" He opened the door and Bester was blown away by the sheer size of the room they were entering.

The room was filled with tubes containing humans inside some sort of solution. Bester noticed immediately that many of them were copies, tended to by other versions of the copies. Vacit's smile was broad as he explained to Bester what was going on, "Here, we created the first humanoid Cylon clones, thanks to the DNA brought to us by Talia Winters as well as the technology left here by the Vorlons. With the assistance of the mechanical Cylons, we were able to create these humanoid versions and use them to undermine the Colonial government to allow us to wipe them out."

Bester stopped and said, "Fascinating! But what is the goal? They surely didn't do this for our benefit! What's in it for them?"

"Why, they wish to do what they had done onto them, Mr. Bester! They wish to rule the humanoid Cylons from the homeworld of the Colonial Gods, Kobol! They wish to become the very apostles of God himself so that they may take His love to them and repopulate those worlds in His glory! And, they will also help us take our world back so we can become the rightful rulers of the Earth Alliance!"

Bester was awestruck at Vacit's vision, but he was amazed at his naiveté at the reality of the situation on Earth. "Surely you realize that Sheridan and the Interstellar Alliance won't stand by and allow you to invade Earth and simply take it over? All this talk of Cylon this and Cylon that is all well and good, but it won't do much good if the Earth Alliance and the Interstellar Alliance come after us!"

Vacit laughed again and said, "Dear Mr. Bester, how you underestimate us! But once you learn all that we have done here, you will find out that we are more than a match for the mundanes! Come! We have much to discuss!" He escorted Bester out of a side door and back to his office, while Talia Winters followed behind and closed the doors as they left.

Two of the humanoid Cylons, a D'anna Biers model and an Aaron Doral model, walked over to each other. They stood in front of a tube filled with a growing Shelly Godfrey clone, but neither of them paid attention to it.

"Did you hear what they said?" D'anna Biers asked.

"Yes! They said the machines would rule us once they had gotten done with Earth! I thought _we_ were the ones who would be in charge once the war with the humans was done!" Doral replied.

"This is very troublesome indeed. Wonder what the others would think?" Biers asked.

"I don't know. One thing is for sure, and that is that not many of our kind are going to like what we have to tell them!" Doral answered, then they scooted away from each other as Talia Winters re-entered the room. They made sure to stay away from the telepath so that their conversation would not be picked up from their thoughts.


	31. The Falling Darkness

**Note: this chapter may contain spoilers for season two of Battlestar Galactica**

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Thirty-One**

**The Falling Darkness**

Centauri Emperor Vir Cotto still was getting used to his new position as leader of the Centauri people. He didn't know if he was up for the job, but then he remembered his two predecessors, as well as the Regent between them, and realized that he had no choice in the matter. His people had been through so much that they needed a leader who could give them the space to breathe and recover their spirit.

The revelation that all of Prime Minister Durla's efforts to regain Centauri dominance in the galaxy were nothing more than the handiwork of the Drakh had shaken the people to their core. Their faith in the Great Maker had been shaken, and it was Cotto's job to help restore that faith. He had no idea how he would do that, so he decided to leave it in the hands of the Great Maker for now and move on to more practical matters.

The Drakh were the servants of the Shadows, and when the Shadows left the galaxy at the end of the Shadow War, the Drakh searched for a sense of purpose. They found it in vengeance, and went to the one place that they knew they could begin building towards their revenge upon John Sheridan and Delenn: Centauri Prime. For almost two Earth decades, they had infested Cotto's homeworld like a cancer. They had placed a keeper on the Regent and forced him to help them frame the Centauri for attacks on Interstellar Alliance shipping. This was the first step in their great campaign: alienating the Centauri from the Alliance and isolating them.

They killed the Regent and then took control of Prime Minister Londo Mollari, who became emperor and declared that the Centauri would shun the rest of the galaxy and rebuild their world, damaged by an unauthorized joint attack by the Narn and the Drazi, themselves. This had also been part of the Drakh master plan, as they now had a wounded and angry people, resentful at the Alliance, to be their labor force to build the fleet they would need to tear down what Sheridan and Delenn had built.

The Drakh didn't trust Mollari, so when Durla came along, they found in him the perfect vehicle for their ambitions. They didn't need a keeper to bring him to heal, just an offshoot called a dreamweaver to implant certain ideas into his head while he slept. The being in charge of all this, Shiv'kala, personally oversaw all of this, and it seemed like everything was coming along according to plans.

However, they had not counted on Vir Cotto to organize a resistance powerful enough to throw off the Drakh from Centauri Prime. They thought him little more than a menace, and hadn't thought of him as being in charge of the movement that was plaguing Prime Minister Durla's efforts to build up a powerful Centauri fleet. Durla had planned to use his speech at the Royal Palace as a signal to the fleet to attack the Alliance worlds, but he was interrupted when the building he had had constructed to centralize those efforts, the Tower of Power, blew up before his shocked eyes. Inside the very top of the Tower of Power, which had been closed off at Durla's orders, Drakh were blown out of the enclosed spire and the shreds of their bodies were sent away from the blast with great force.

Durla's cabinet turned against him, pleading with him to call off the attack. In his typical style, he gunned them all down, and then entered his quarters to send the signal to the fleet to launch its attack. However, his wife Mariel attacked him and managed to stop him by sending them off a balcony and down to their deaths.

_Mariel_, Vir thought as his eyes got misty. It was his great sin, having the technomage Galen whisper the seven words that would make the former wife of Londo Mollari fall in love with him so madly that she would do anything he asked without question. He had asked him to do it out of spite, and Galen had called him on it when Vir wished to change her back. Vir had used her as his instrument, getting her to agree to be Durla's wife because the prime minister was obsessed with her. This gave him vital eyes and ears to gather intelligence for him, but Durla was abusive to Mariel after people began to think that it was Mariel, and not Durla, who was the real power.

In the end, Mariel did what was needed, but Vir didn't know if he could ever forgive himself for what he had done. As he entered the throne room for his meeting with General Rhys, he tried to cover up the haunted look on his face at the sins of his past.

General Rhys smiled as the emperor took to the throne a bit hesitantly. Like himself, Emperor Cotto was a humble man. The only difference between them was that Cotto had been born to a higher class, while Rhys was born into a lower one. Neither had expected to be where they were now, especially Cotto. However, Cotto had won him over with his organization of the resistance, and Rhys had begun to admire the short, thin man who now was the ruler of his world. Cotto didn't know it, but to Rhys, he was the perfect man for the job.

Today's meeting was to go over the joint offensive against the remaining Drakh ships. The Interstellar Alliance had joined forces with the same Centauri fleet that Durla had created unknowingly for the Drakh to go after them. The Drakh had been responsible for the plague that almost wiped out all life on Earth, and Rhys knew that Sheridan and Hollifield both wanted to see the Drakh wiped out.

Cotto had appointed Rhys his chief of staff for the military, and Rhys had taken to the job just as Cotto had taken to his. Both were capable, but both weren't hindered by their egos, and both did it out of a common desire: to fulfill a need that the Centauri people had. For Cotto, it was to rebuild his world and to bring peace to it. For Rhys, it was to enact vengeance upon the Drakh and to rebuild relations with the ISA through the joint operations.

Rhys brought in a table full of maps and reports to go over with the emperor, and the emperor abandoned the throne to sit down in a rather plain chair to see where the joint task force was going to strike next. "We have traced them down to a system three jumps from Vorlon space. It's called the Horvan system, and it only has one habitable planet, Horvan V. Our reconnaissance probes have discovered that the Drakh have a sizeable fleet there, and they look to be building up for an attack of some kind."

Cotto nodded his head and asked, "Any idea if they may have entered Vorlon space, by any chance?"

Rhys hadn't thought of the possibility, and admitted as much to his commander in chief. Vir said, "Before the Colonials were found by the Earthers and we learned of the Cylons, I wouldn't have asked that question, but with what I have learned about them, I don't discount any possibility."

Rhys looked at him in shock. "Do you really think that the Drakh would form an alliance with these robotic Cylons?"

Vir's look was steady as he began to paint a very frightening scenario for him. "Think about it, General! The Drakh go to the Cylons and form an alliance. Somehow, they have with them the DNA of several Centauri. We've seen that they are capable of creating human models of themselves with organic technology that can infiltrate society and work to undermine it, as they did with the Colonials. Whose to say that they might not be doing the very thing right now on Earth, and whose to say that they wouldn't do it here?"

Rhys was thunderstruck at this possibility, and sat down thoughtlessly in the chair that the emperor had stood up from to make his point. Cotto never said a word at Rhys' actions as the general said, "How likely do you think this will happen?"

"It's probably unlikely, but if they do form an alliance, they'll go after the humans first, then the Minbari, and then us."

A thought occurred to Rhys and he voiced it, "What if the Drakh aren't wanting to form an alliance? What if they are desperate and plan to attack the Cylons to take their technology and use it on us?"

"You have a point, General. It's possible that they might be doing that very thing. Besides, why would the allies of the Shadows go into Vorlon space and try to form an alliance with a race that may or may not have had connections with those very same Vorlons?"

Rhys noticed a peculiar look in the emperor's eyes, and said, "Yes, it would seem to be rather silly that a Shadow ally would have anything to do with an ally of the Vorlons, wouldn't it?"

Cotto looked out the window at the still heavily damaged capital, which had suffered greatly when the Drakh detonated fusion bombs in retaliation for the resistance, and sighed. "There is an interesting saying I learned from the humans: 'desperate men do desperate things'. The Drakh are desperate, so they are likely to do anything.

"So there are two possibilities. The likely one is that the Drakh have found the Cylons and plan to attack them so that they can gain their technology and use it against us. The unlikely one is that the Drakh have found the Cylons and have formed an alliance with them in the hopes of doing what each of them would like to do: attack Earth. Given what we've gone through over the last couple of decades, General, which one do you think is most likely?"

Rhys looked down at the reports on the table, but wasn't seeing them, as his mind was deep in contemplation. Finally, he said, "We need to work on what we will need to do with both these possibilities. By your leave, Your Highness, I ask that I be allowed to travel to Earth to consult with President Hollifield and his general staff about this possibility."

"By all means, General. Leave as soon as you can, and I'll personally make the arrangements. The sooner we let the humans know of what we may have discovered, the sooner that we can prepare to deal with whichever of these possibilities crops up." Cotto replied. General Rhys bowed before his emperor and turned to leave, leaving his staffers to gather the maps and other reports as well as the table they had brought in.

Cotto left them to it as he looked out the window and lost himself in thought. _Could they possibly do the unthinkable?_ Vir thought. _Could the Drakh join up with the Cylons?_ Vir shook his head and tried to dismiss the possibility from his mind. However, try as he might to rid himself of that unthinkable linkage, it held onto him like the grasp of a desperate man.

He spent the rest of the evening writing in his private study, going over the journals left by his predecessor and friend, Londo Mollari. He didn't manage to get much done, though, so he retreated to his bedchamber to sleep it off. Inside, his love Senna was there waiting for him. They had not officially announced their wedding date yet, but their engagement was common knowledge.

Vir took of the vestments of office, sarcastically called the "ice cream suit" by Michael Garibaldi, and placed them on a nearby chair. He slid under the bedcovers with Senna, who kissed him and tried to start something more, but she noticed the look on his face and asked instead, "What troubles you my love?"

Vir told her all of it, and Senna listened to it without emotion. She had been just as instrumental in the resistance as he was, so she was used to hearing about the inner workings of the government and the military. However, the possibilities Vir brought up troubled her even so, and she added, "So what will we do when we find out what they are up to?"

Vir snorted and said, "Stop them, or course! Whether we can or not…that's only known to the Great Maker. Now, let's get some sleep. We've both a busy day ahead of us tomorrow." Senna kissed him goodnight and they both fell fast asleep, but neither slept well that night.


	32. Mysteries of Laser and Circuit

**Note: This chapter contains possible spoilers to the second season of Battlestar Galactica**

**Thirteen**

**Chapter 32**

**Mysteries of Laser and Circuit**

Alwyn was glad to have Galen along for this trip, even though if things went wrong, this might be the last for both of them. To the best of their knowledge, they didn't think the Cylons could detect the presence of their black, triangular ships. This was good because it allowed them to place millions upon millions of their microscopic probes all through out the Colonial worlds as well as on several Cylon basestars that they had encountered in their meandering journey through the Colonial system.

They had just deployed another faster then light relay to keep in touch with all these probes when the sensors aboard Alwyn's ship detected a jump point. He summoned a visual and found that Drakh ships had entered the system, near Caprica.

"It's what we suspected alright. Now the question is, why are they here?" said Alwyn.

The six people inside Alwyn's ship gathered around the visual and studied it intently. G'Leel was one of the two non-humans on board, and the Narn female looked at the visual and growled, "What are those scumbags up to? Surely the Cylons aren't that stupid to hop into bed with those creatures?"

Matthew and Elizabeth Gideon stared at the display silently, along with Dureena Nafeel and the other technomage, Galen. They watched as the Drakh ships passed close to the Cylon basestars.

"Either side powering up weapons or launching fighters?" Matthew Gideon asked.

Galen shook his head slightly and said, "No, no indications of any military activity at all. I am detecting scanners at work, though."

"Do the Drakh have any cloaking technology active on their ships?" Elizabeth inquired.

"They have the technology to mask themselves, just as we have, but they've chosen not to use it. The Cylons should be able to see those ships, yet they do nothing to respond to them. Curious!" Alwyn answered, as he was transfixed with the data coming from the sensors.

Alwyn directed his ship to follow the fleet of ships, staying just far enough away to give him time to react should the Drakh detect his presence. The guests aboard his ship spent their time going over the data, eating, sleeping, and using the bathroom. This wasn't a pleasure cruise, for sure, but the old man was glad for the company.

They spend the better part of three days tracking the fleet visiting each of the Colonial homeworlds. They made no secret of their presence, even jumping into normal space within a click of a Cylon basestar around Libron. After searching through all the twelve planets, the Drakh fleet left the system and headed back to their apparent staging area in the Horvan system on the edge of Centauri space.

Alwyn had a twinge of remembered pain as he entered Centauri space. He couldn't help but to think of his former student, Carvin, who had died so long ago. She had always had fearlessness about her, as well as an intense curiosity and a love of showmanship that touched his heart. She had been like a daughter to him, and to hear that she had died on the diversion to Babylon 5 had torn at his soul.

While the others slept, Galen came up to Alwyn as he stared at a picture of his former student in the kitchen area. "The pain never goes away, does it?" he asked.

Alwyn looked up at him and replied, "No. It never does. I could live for another fifty years and it would always hurt like it does today. You know this all to well yourself."

"Yes. Isabelle's been gone for almost a quarter century now, and even though I've found love again, it still hurts. I think it's because, deep down, I worry that I may lose Dureena in such a similar way." Galen spoke as he sat down on the opposite side of the table from Alwyn. Alwyn noticed for the first time that Galen was getting old, with the wrinkles starting to form on his face from age.

Isabelle had been Galen's first love, brutally taken away from him by the traitor technomages, Razeel and Elizar. They had been dealt with in the end, but their deaths had not brought Isabelle back. Nothing would do that, and, for a long time, Alwyn worried that Galen would kill himself from the pain. Even after Galen had found a way to bring his restless tech under control, he had always wondered if the pain would eventually consume whom he considered his nephew.

Galen's parents had died when he was ten. They had been technomages, and everyone who abided by the Code of the technomages had suspected that the couple would meet a bad end. Elric had been assigned to monitor them, and when they had killed themselves aboard a stellar cruise ship from a violent argument, he took custody of the young Galen.

Galen became Elric's student, and, despite his troubles, was an excellent student. He did have a dark side, though, which almost cost him the chance to become a technomage. They kept him in, though, because Galen had found within himself a weapon of mass destruction. To this day, he still had it, but the urge to destroy and kill had been drained after the tech had been tamed within Galen.

Alwyn was more than surprised that Galen had fallen for Dureena after the end of the Drakh plague on Earth. Galen went his own way after Earth had been cured, while Dureena had gone to Minbar to become a Ranger. A couple of years later, Galen had been asked by President Hollifield to gather reconnaissance on Centauri Prime, and he had asked Dureena to assist him. The mission was a success in more ways than one.

These days, Dureena served as the liaison between the technomages and the Rangers. The remaining technomages were still in hiding, having gone there shortly before the outbreak of the Shadow war to avoid becoming used as weapons in the conflict, and they had no intention of coming out anytime soon. However, they had designated Galen to be their representative to the Interstellar Alliance, as well as their connection with the renegade technomage Alwyn, who had chosen to fight the Shadows alongside Hollifield and Sheridan instead of fleeing to the hideout.

Alwyn was too old for love himself. He didn't mind, though. He'd had more than enough experiences to fill twenty lifetimes. To him, the Code of the technomages had an addition of wine, women, and song, and he had lived those three tenets to the maximum. As far as he knew, he had no offspring, but there was always the chance that he had impregnated a few of the women he'd seduced over the years.

Galen went to bed and Alwyn stayed up longer, enjoying the jambalaya he had made from a recipe he had received from one of the lady friends he had bedded. This one was still the preeminent chef in New Orleans, a city that Alwyn had loved and almost made his home, except another technomage had made Earth her place of power and it was forbidden for another to come there and do the same thing.

Andromeda was still there, refusing to flee from her home deep in the Appalachian Mountains when the technomages fled from the oncoming Shadow war. She was a friend of Hollifield's to this day, and she had been instrumental in helping the forces of light to overthrow the darkness that was President William Morgan Clark's regime. She could have left when the Drakh plague was unleashed because the technomages were found to be immune to it, but she defiantly stayed behind to help where she could.

Galen was making his way to his room after finishing his late night meal when he got a signal from his ship that a message was coming in for him. He sighed and went back to the ship's bridge to receive the signal. It was Garrison Hollifield, his old friend and president of the Earth Alliance. He still had a youthful look about him despite his age, but the iron gray was slowly taking its hold among the jet-black hair on his head.

"Howdy Alwyn! So what've ya found?" Hollifield said with an exaggerated southern drawl that showed to him that his old friend was running on little sleep these days.

Alwyn told him what he had found out, then asked, "So what do you plan on doing about it?"

"Good question. The head of the Centauri military, General Rhys, is on his way here to consult with me on what we should do. Emperor Cotto and he are unsure of what the Drakh are up to, and whatever assistance you can be in finding out would be of great help."

"I'll do what I can. We'll do all we can here." Alwyn said, then he changed the subject. "How's Andromeda these days?"

"Still living up in the woods near Boone. Still teaching at Appalachian State University under her alias, Andrea Medina. Still spooking the locals with her pagan disguise."

Alwyn laughed and added, "So no calls for lynching her as a witch? Or as a bloody pagan?"

"Nope, thank goodness! Nah, they left the lynching for the blacks back in the day, before they were forced to give that up by the better part of society." Hollifield said, but then added, "Of course, when telepaths were discovered, they didn't mind lynching a few of them."

"I remember what you told me about the Spartanburg massacre of 2115, shortly before Lee Crawford managed to get the situation under some control." Alwyn reflected on the video taken by WSPA-TV of the telepaths brought into the downtown area and hanged by the mobs while police stood by and did nothing. He shook his head at how his kind could do so many great things, yet commit such barbaric atrocities.

"Yeah, I remember that as well from school. How can I not remember it, when the Psi Corps considered the place to be ground zero in their struggle against the normals? My mom would go out of her way to avoid that place while on the way to see family in Georgia."

Alwyn was about to go on, but he received a signal from one of his probes. One of the Cylon basestars had jumped into space around Horvan V. "This should be interesting." Alwyn said as he relayed the news to Hollifield.

"Yes it should. Keep in touch, Alwyn. We need all the heads up on this that we can get!"


	33. Stories From The War Room

**Note: Contains spoilers for the second season of the new Battlestar Galactica**

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Thirty-Three**

**Stories from the War Room**

The Tom Zarek campaign was based on the sixth level of Red Sector, while Laura Roslin's campaign was based on the ninth level of the same sector. Signs were plastered all over the Zocolo shopping center, as well as in other areas of the station accessible to the Colonials. On the Colonial broadcast channels, television commercials were airing, and the mudslinging was already thick in the air. Roslin's campaign concentrated on Zarek's past, while Zarek hammered home Roslin's failures as president.

Jim Bitterbane had covered many campaigns in his time, but this one was different from any presidential campaign he'd ever been assigned to report on. Being a veteran ISN reporter gave him access that others could not get, but even he couldn't score one-on-one interviews with Zarek or Roslin. Over the years, he'd interviewed Hollifield and Sheridan numerous times, as well as other prominent politicians and public figures. He'd tried and tried to get an interview with each candidate, but both candidates' press secretaries rebuffed him.

He was eating a quick dinner when a younger man walked up to him. "Jim Bitterbane?"

Bitterbane looked up and recognized the man speaking to him from the Colonial News Channel feeds. "You're James McManus from the Colonial Gang!" He extended his hand and McManus shook it. "Please, sit down! What can I do for you?"

McManus accepted the invitation to sit and got right down to business, "I've heard that you've been trying to get an interview with each of the candidates."

"Yes, but without much success! Do you have any reason why they might be stonewalling me?" Bitterbane asked calmly as he sipped his espresso.

"I do. Both candidates do not like the fact that only ISN reporters are on the debate panel, and they don't fully trust you three."

Bitterbane said, "Ah! Let me guess! They both distrust us equally and think we're working for the other side."

"So what do you intend to do about it?" McManus asked.

"I'll talk with my bosses to see if I can get someone from Colonial News Channel to be on the panel. My preference would be two representatives, but that's up to the people in charge. One thing I've learned in the news business is that you never know how the suits are going to go in a situation like this."

As it turned out, the suits went exactly the way Jim Bitterbane wanted them to, mainly because of his reputation. He'd been in the business long enough to know how to twist the right arms and soothe the right egos to get what he wanted. In fact, he'd gotten all three members of the Colonial Gang, because Vini Mani was forced to drop out due to a family emergency. So it was Bitterbane and Maggie Egan representing ISN, while James McManus of the Caprica Times, Playa Palacios of the Picon Star Tribune, and Sekou Hamilton of the Arilon Gazette representing Colonial News Channel.

The debate would take place in the amphitheater on Babylon 5, an open-air area that was based in "The Garden", which looked up into the interior of the station. Here, thousands of supporters for each candidate could come in and see the debates. They would also be covered by Colonial News Channel as well as the station's own internal channels.

The first debate would take place in seven days time, and Bitterbane and Egan worked closely with their colleagues on the Colonial Gang to develop what kinds of questions would be asked in the first debate, as well as the future debates. Bitterbane had thought his days of covering important news events had been over when he retired after the last presidential election on Earth, but he was pleasantly surprised to feel the same excitement he always felt during campaigns coming back again to him.

Ellen Tigh didn't trust reporters, especially ones she didn't know. She'd insisted that Tom Zarek not speak to Jim Bitterbane, so that they could keep in control of the message. This wasn't her advice alone, though, as his own campaign people were telling him the same thing. However, Tom Zarek was feeling pressure from John Sheridan and Michael Garibaldi to grant the interview, with subtle hints dropped that Laura Roslin was about to do the same thing.

Their days were spent making appearances all over the station, talking with the various groups from the twelve homeworlds. They made no secret of their affair, as the populace had seemingly judged her right in leaving her husband Saul for Zarek after what had happened during martial law. So she didn't hesitate in the least in being on the arm of the man she hoped would be the next Colonial president.

This alliance had alienated her from the man she really desired: William Adama. Ellen Tigh was always attracted to the men who were seemingly unattainable, and Bill Adama was the pinnacle of that goal. Even after his divorce, he stubbornly would not fall for her subtle charms. She was unaware that Adama knew full well of her reputation with bedding any man in sight, so he steered clear of her.

Ellen, though, wasn't thinking of Bill Adama at the moment, as she sat down to organize Zarek's schedule for the next day. She watched him as he spoke to some of his campaign workers and admired his charisma and genuine charm. He was sincere in his beliefs, but not below getting into the campaign trenches and slugging it out the old fashioned way. Colonial politics was just as dirty as Earth Alliance politics, especially now since there were so few of them left.

She went to bed with him each night, but neither one had the energy these days to make love. Most nights, they were so tired that they didn't even bother getting out of their clothes when they went to bed. They would always just put on new clothes the next morning and leave the old ones to staffers who would do the laundry for them. Such things were beneath Ellen Tigh anyway, having been born into a wealthy family and used to such privileges.

Tom Zarek, on the other hand, felt a little guilty about not doing his own laundry. Normally this would annoy Ellen, but she found herself more attracted to him because of his humility. Zarek could be swank and sophisticated yet humble and grounded at the same time.

As they walked out of their quarters to head back to the office for a new day, they were met by the usual staffers and security personnel who would help them through the gauntlet of reporters and supporters. Ellen Tigh loved this life, and cursed herself for choosing to marry that bum Saul Tigh instead of finding someone like Tom Zarek long ago.

"You sure you want to do this?" Saul Tigh said to his commanding officer.

Admiral William Adama adjusted his dress uniform slightly, then turned to answer his friend. "I know what you're going to say. Something along the lines of 'a soldier shouldn't get involved in politics'? Don't think that thought hasn't passed that mind a few times since I came up with this idea."

Tigh chuckled and added, "You know I don't like her, but I can't stand him. I can deal with Roslin, even after the martial law decree, but Zarek! How the hell do you deal with a terrorist like him?"

"I was reading something from Earth the other day. It was a column in their newspaper, Universe Today. One of the writers wrote, 'one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter'. I think it had something to do with some kind of anniversary of an attack on something called the Twin Towers. I don't know, because I was just glancing over the article. The phrase sort of stuck with me all night last night."

"Don't tell me you're getting a soft spot in your heart for Zarek!" Tigh warned.

Adama laughed and said, "Hell no! Just some perspective as to why people would rally around him. You're a military historian, Saul. You know that Colonial history before the Articles of Colonization wasn't exactly a clean and pleasant one."

Tigh shook his head and admitted, "No. No it wasn't."

"How many massacres, government crackdowns, martial law declarations, and so on and so forth have we seen throughout our history? And I don't just mean on Sagittaron, either! Caprica, Picon, Tauron, Aquaria…all the colonial worlds have had their dark moments filled with blood!" Adama poured himself a snifter of ambrosia and sipped a little of it, then admitted, "Maybe we had it coming to us."

"Had what coming to us?" Tigh asked.

"The holocaust. We played God, Saul. Created the Cylons to serve us, do the jobs we didn't want to do, and look what happened: they turned on us. The humans from Earth have had similar experiences as well, and they've struggled to find the right kind of way to run society as well. Neither one of us really qualifies to walk among the Gods, when you think about it."

Tigh thought that over for a moment, then glanced over at a clock in the room. "This can wait until later, Bill. Right now, we'd better get to Roslin's war room. She's expecting us." Adama took one last quick look in the mirror, then walked out of the room.

Tigh noticed this and remarked, "You'd think you were going to ask her out on a date or something!"

Adama laughed and said, "Who has time for something like that these days?" Tigh joined in the chuckle as they entered a transport tube and made their way to Roslin's campaign headquarters.

Laura Roslin didn't know if this was a good idea, but with the way things were going in her campaign, this could be the edge she needs to squeak out a victory at the polls. Or it could cost her the election, but she refused to dwell upon such possibilities.

The reporters gathered at the press conference hastily called in her campaign's press area. Admiral David Rissen, at the behest of President Garrison Hollifield, had given each campaign plenty of space to operate their campaigns free of charge. Space, unlike in days of old, wasn't a problem to come by as the station struggled to regenerate interest from Earth and the other alien races.

Roslin glanced over at Admiral Adama, his son Lee "Apollo" Adama, and Commander Tigh, all decked out in their dress uniforms. She found herself drawn to the admiral, and wondered why. It's not like they really got along real well, but she did think he was a handsome devil. She bit down a laugh that almost came out at the thought of herself involved with him, because neither of them had time to even breathe, much less go out to dinner these days. And with the Cylon threat always looming, there was no guarantee that they would survive for much longer.

The endorsement of both Adamas, as well as Commander Tigh, would probably alienate a few voters, while bring in others. No one would know until the votes were cast how it would break, but Roslin was willing to take the gamble. Tigh's apology had resonated with the populace, and, much to her surprise, there was a wave of forgiveness for his actions rippling through the Colonials. Not through all of them, of course, but perhaps through enough to swing enough votes.

_Pegasus _commander Jack Fisk was also there, because when we heard of Admiral Adama's plans, he wanted to jump aboard and endorse the president too. It was for the same reason: because they didn't know what Zarek would do if he were elected president. Would Zarek keep things as they were, or would he try to revamp things and create chaos in the military? Adama hadn't wanted to find out, and, thus, why he had chosen to endorse the president.

Adama, after the gracious introduction from Roslin, made his endorsement, and said it from the heart. He wasn't a smooth public speaker, but, when he was on a roll, he didn't do half bad. Tigh and Fisk followed soon enough, and when it was over, the media was abuzz and threw questions at them from all directions.

Bitterbane left the press conference and went into Sheridan's office for his scheduled interview. "Afternoon, John! What did you make of it?"

"The press conference? I'm not sure. I kinda feel uneasy about military officers endorsing political candidates, but given the circumstances…" Sheridan shrugged.

"Indeed. Now, any idea of when I can speak to each of the candidates?"

Sheridan laughed and commented, "You never give up, do ya? Well, I think they're close to giving in on that account. Give me a couple of days and I see what I can do on that front. Now, let's get down to business!" He gestured to a couch in the office, and Bitterbane sat down on it, with Sheridan taking the couch across from it.

"Let me guess: off the record, deepest background again?" Bitterbane asked.

Sheridan smiled and said, "As always, Jim. Just like Hollifield does when he wants to float out ideas to the public." Bitterbane laughed and they got down to work.


	34. Soap Box Convention

**Note: Contains spoilers for season two of the new Battlestar Galactica**

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Thirty-Four**

**Soap Box Convention**

The amphitheater was packed to almost bursting capacity. The candidates were backstage in the dressing rooms, trying their best to relax before the debate began. The moderator, Jim Bitterbane, was sitting in the center chair, decked out in his usual navy blue suit which he was famous for from years hosting the popular ISN late night news magazine, NightSide. It had been based on the ancient television program, Nightline, from the American Broadcasting Company, which had long since merged with another company in the corporate fusions that ran rampant in the early decades of the twenty-first century.

To his left was Maggie Egan, formerly the lead anchor at the InterStellar Network News. She, like Jim Bitterbane, had retired after the presidential election of 2277, but had been dragged out here to Babylon 5 at the request of President Garrison Hollifield. Her trademark blond hair had plenty of gray in it these days, which she didn't mind since she was a professor of journalism at Cornell these days, as well as a highly respected author. She had been working on her memoirs, specifically her imprisonment during the martial law era under President William Morgan Clark, when the head of state of the Earth Alliance asked her to join her old friend and be a panelist in this debate.

To Maggie Egan's left was Sekou Hamilton, a dark skinned male who was formerly editor of the Aerelon Gazette and now co-host of The Colonial Gang. He was seen a relatively neutral by both candidates, and was accepted by both Tom Zarek and Laura Roslin without question.

To Bitterbane's right was his new friend and colleague, James McManus, who was an ardent critic of Laura Roslin. Though not a huge supporter of Zarek's, he had been added to the panel at the surprising request of Laura Roslin. A former journalist with the Caprica Times, he had been with Roslin for the decommissioning ceremony of the battlestar _Galactica,_ doing an article on the retirement of one of the last original dozen battlestars, when the Cylons attacked the Colonies.

To McManus' right was Playa Palacios, a former veteran columnist with the Picon Star Tribune. Since the holocaust, she had become the most popular journalist in the remaining Colonial fleet, and both Admiral Adama and President Roslin recognized her status by giving her the first question at each press conference, much to the chagrin of her fellow reporters.

Just to the right of the stage was Dan Tanner, chief of staff to President Hollifield, in the "gorilla" position, named, for some strange reason, after an ancient professional wrestler, Gorilla Monsoon. He would be the one who indicated to the two candidates when it was time to walk out onto the stage. Tanner was a tall, thoughtful man in his mid-forties with jet-black hair, and had been with the president for years as his right hand man.

On the opposite side of the stage, John Sheridan and Michael Garibaldi watched the proceedings as they headed towards "go-time". Like President Hollifield, they had gone out of their way to be neutral in this election, but it wasn't that much of a secret that they would like Roslin to be re-elected. They had made an effort, along with Dan Tanner, to get to know Tom Zarek and to build lines of communication with him, but he had been evasive, almost as if he didn't want to have anything to do with them.

This troubled the former president of the Interstellar Alliance, as well as the former security chief of Babylon 5, as they watched Zarek and Roslin walk onto the stage to the crowd's polite applause. Garibaldi wanted this to go well, and had called in his old friend, Zack Allen, to help organize security for the event. Chief Vladimir Kiprosov, the current head of security of Babylon 5, welcomed the assistance, having served under both Garibaldi and Allen during their time in his job. The husky Russian stood on Zarek's side of the audience, while Allen stood on Roslin's side.

Jim Bitterbane made some small talk with his fellow panelists as well as the candidates as they did sound checks for the microphones. The Colonists in the audience marveled at the floating cameras that were commonplace to those in the Earth Alliance these days, but they did nothing more than raise some idle curiosity, as the real attention getter was about to begin.

"Good evening. I am Jim Bitterbane, and welcome to this debate for the office of the presidency of the Colonies of Kobol." Bitterbane introduced his fellow panelists to the audience in the crowd and to those watching on the station's internal networks. He introduced the challenger, Tom Zarek, and roughly half the audience applauded, while some on the other half of the aisle shouted insults and other barbs. Then Bitterbane introduced the President Roslin, and the Roslin side of the aisle got up to applaud, with some boos, hisses, and shouts of dissent aimed at her. Both candidates held up well to all of it, standing behind their lecterns and going over their notes.

After introducing the candidates, he gave each of them time for an opening statement. By custom, the challenger went first, and Tom Zarek gave a quick glance to Ellen Tigh as he began his prepared remarks.

"Several months ago, I was a political prisoner. I stood up to the corrupt government of the Colonies and was thrown into jail because they didn't want me to be a voice of change. I had hoped in the two decades of my imprisonment that change would come to the government, but, sadly, it hadn't happened. We need greater freedom to decide of our own fate, and, if I am elected, I shall strive to give that freedom to the Colonial citizens who have long deserved to have it.

"Personally, I have nothing against Laura Roslin. She had to assume the office she currently holds because President Adar and the rest of the cabinet had been wiped out in the Cylon attacks. For the most part, she has done a decent job as president, given the circumstances.

"However, she has turned us over into the care of the Earth Alliance, and had not considered the fact that our people struggle to hold onto their culture and beliefs against the far more potent influence of those from Earth as well as those of the races in the Interstellar Alliance. I know that President Hollifield and former president Sheridan mean well, but we must find someplace else to live so that we can preserve our culture and rebuilt our society. I don't know where that new home will be yet, but, as your president, I will endeavor to find it and to relocate us there."

Bitterbane turned to Roslin and said, "Madam President, your opening statement please."

Roslin stepped to the microphone and began, "To be honest, I never wanted this job. I was perfectly content to serve under President Adar, Gods rest his soul, and do my duty as secretary of education. However, when the attacks occurred, I had to assume the office and do my best to help us survive. Then Commander Adama wanted to go back and fight the Cylons, but I convinced him to flee the system and try to find a new home for us all.

"We never expected to find the thirteenth tribe out here, and we are grateful to the Earth Alliance for their overwhelming hospitality and their assistance to those of us from the Colonies. If it wasn't for them, we might not be here right now. The Cylons are still out there and still want to wipe us out, but, now with our friends from Earth, as well as those from the Interstellar Alliance, we have a chance to regain some of what we have lost.

"As for the allegation that I am simply turning us over to the Earth Alliance and sacrificing our culture, our religion, and our ways, that is not true. We've not had the chance to discuss a new home, what with the need to upgrade _Galactica_ and _Pegasus_, as well as the fact that we need this safe haven to rest and recover from our journey. When the time comes, we shall find a new home and start to rebuild our society. Like Zarek, I do not know where that home is, but, with the help of our friends, we shall find that new home."

The first question went to Playa Palacios, as usual, "Mr. Zarek, how can you be the president of the Colonies when you have not renounced your belief that violence can be used for change? How can we trust you to abide by the results of the election should they not go your way?"

Zarek looked the reporter in the eye and said, "Consider what the Colonies were like twenty years ago, for a moment. We were still getting used to living under the Articles of Colonization after so long without a real constitution to protect the rights of the individual citizen. Even with them, many citizens who spoke up in opposition to government policies on my homeworld of Sagittaron were harassed, jailed, and otherwise repressed by the powers that be. Any and all attempts to hear our grievances were rebuffed by the Colonial government on Caprica. How would you feel if you lived in an apartment building with lousy plumbing, no heat or air conditioning, and rats and roaches galore, and every time you complained to the landlord, they not only raised the rent, but also added even more problems to your apartment. That is what the Colonial government has done, in my opinion, to the citizens of the Colonies, and it is high time that we have the right to make more choices for ourselves."

Bitterbane pointed to Roslin and asked for her response. "I think that Mr. Zarek has a penchant for exaggeration. Yes, the Colonial government hasn't been everything to everyone like it should be, but change does take time. President Adar, during his first term, had done quite a lot to give citizens greater freedom and rights, as well as give them greater chances at education and economic prosperity, and I intend to continue the work he began. Since we arrived here, we have been able to set up schools to educate our children, which, I might point out, are run exclusively by my government. While our medical needs are being attended to mostly by the staff under Dr. Rachel Biggs, she is helping train selected people to attend to our needs, as well as setting up a medical school for those citizens who survive in the Colonies and who wish to become our future doctors and nurses."

The question and answer session that followed was civil between the two sides, though it did get a little heated in the audience. However, Kiprosov and Allen did an excellent job of quelling any possible disturbance of the debate before it began. Emotions ran high in the audience, so they needed to be on top of things in case things began to go awry.

Most of the questions were detailed, if a little boring. Economic policy, education, and health care joined small business, crime and punishment, and relations with the EA and the ISA as the main topics, with the latter taking up most of the closing statements.

Zarek said in his closing statement, "We know that the Earth Alliance and the Interstellar Alliance mean well, and we are grateful for providing us Babylon 5 for our safe harbor, but this place cannot be our permanent home for us and our children. We need a new world, with sky, and water, and air to breathe. We also know that the EA Senate wants to close this place down and decommission it, so the sooner we find this new world, the better off we'll all be, because then the EA can commit the resources they spend here and use them to help us out until we get on our feet."

Roslin rebutted him by saying, "Of course Babylon 5 cannot be our permanent home, but it does not break the EA if they keep this place open for our benefit for a while longer. Under my government, we shall take up whatever responsibility we can to help ease the burden of Earth in running this station. This will help us in the long run when we do find a new world to call our home, because we will need the skills we learn here to help us in our new home."

When Bitterbane concluded the debate and bid the audience good night, it seemed as if everyone on stage let out a huge sigh of relief. The crowd dispersed peacefully, even though heated arguments began as soon as they were out the door. Babylon 5 security had quickly escorted everyone out, which brought pride to Garibaldi, who trained the guy who ran things around here these days.

Roslin and Zarek went back to their respective dressing rooms and later came out to address the media. To no one's surprise, they each claimed to have won the debate. The five panelists hosted a post-debate report on the Colonial News Channel, and they all agreed that there was no clear-cut winner tonight. The election was just weeks away now, and there were two more debates scheduled.

Afterwards, Tanner called President Hollifield and filled him in on what he saw at the debate. Hollifield listened to the analysis, then asked his long-time associate, "Do you think we can trust Zarek?"

"We can, after a fashion. At least as far as you can in politics, which isn't that far. But I don't believe our worries of Zarek leading some sort of insurrection have any merit, because I think he realizes just how weak their position is right now in the greater scheme of things."

Hollifield thought for a moment, then made a comment that only the two of them would know about, "Wonder what your old colleagues would think of all of this?"

Tanner said, "Frankly, Mr. President, I don't know what they would think. It's been a while since I've talked to them, you know? I kinda doubt I'll be able to converse with them anytime soon anyway."

"That's true. I don't know if it's even possible, but if it were, I think they would be shocked at how you turned out." Hollifield said.

"I can't disagree with you there, Mr. President. I can't think of anyone in the old crew who would imagine me where I am now." Tanner replied.

They ended the call and Tanner got up from in front of the communications panel and walked into the bedroom. He opened the drawer on the nightstand and pulled out a badge that he once wore long ago. He stared at it for a long time, finally breaking the silence by saying, "Yes, they would be quite shocked at how things turned out for me." He placed the badge back into the drawer and closed it, but allowed himself a few moment to reflect on adventures long in his past before heading back into the office to take on the challenges of the here and now.


	35. Dealing With The Opposition

**Note: Contains possible spoilers for season two of the new Battlestar Galactica **

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Thirty-Five**

**Dealing With The Opposition**

The station's second-in-command, Lieutenant Colonel Sharon "Boomer" Valerii, as well as his chief of staff, Dan Tanner, met Earth Alliance president Garrison Hollifield at the empty arrival port on Babylon 5. Unlike the previous commander of Babylon 5, Rissen didn't insist on protocol and allowed the president to come aboard without the pomp and circumstance that was his due. Besides, Rissen knew it would only honk off the president, and he had enough people pissed at him as it was.

Valerii saluted and Hollifield returned the salute, then got down to business. Tanner started the briefing as they made their way through the secured and emptied hallways towards his suite in Blue Sector. "In the latest polls, Zarek has pulled slightly ahead, but it's within the margin for error, so it's still effectively a draw."

"What about our efforts to upgrade the Colonial fleet?" Hollifield asked Valerii.

"They are going well, sir. We've added pulse laser batteries and plasma beams to both the _Galactica _and _Pegasus_, and we've also found a massive supply of tylium for both ships, and we've begun constructing portable refueling depots and tankers to bring supplies here. Construction of new Vipers continues, and we should be able to have all primary and secondary fighters ready to go within a month."

"That's good news. Commend the crew for their hard work on my behalf, Lieutenant Colonel, and urge them to keep things up. We may need them sooner than later, if reports I've received are accurate."

Valerii nodded, brushing a strand of graying hair away from her face as the three walked towards his suite. "The admiral shared them with me, sir, and I can understand the concern. If the Drakh join forces with the Cylons…"

"We don't know that for sure, Valerii. It's important not to jump to conclusions…" Tanner interjected.

"I understand, Mr. Tanner. Call it a gut feeling if you will, but I think that an alliance between those two is more likely, and not the Drakh conquering the Cylons and taking over their technology. The Drakh can't afford to launch an offensive against them, especially with us and the Centauri running them down wherever we find them. Makes more sense that they would join forces, but anything's possible." Valerii answered back.

Hollifield stopped to add his input. "Let's go under the working assumption that they are going to form an alliance, because either way, it spells trouble for us. The Drakh want to hit back at us, and the Cylons want to hit at the Colonials. Guess where the most likely places for such efforts would be focused on?" The question was left unanswered as they entered his suite, mainly because the answer was plainly known. Babylon 5 and Earth would be the targets, and they had to be ready for whatever the Drakh and/or the Cylons threw at them.

The president's arrival and subsequent meeting with Roslin as well as Admiral Adama and her immediate staff provoked Tom Zarek to comment to the media that it was disrespectful to not include the Quorum of Twelve, of which he was a part of, in the meetings. It also provoked Hollifield's possible opponent in the 2283 EA presidential election, Clarissa Cally, to remark that the president was, yet again, jetting off at taxpayers' expense for meetings that could be best held via StellarCom.

"You know, in three years, I'll be so glad to beat that damn bitch at the polls! She's nothing but a damn backstabber and an opportunist, and a piss-poor one at that! The only reason the Liberal Democrats and their allies have latched on to her is that they have no one that is popular enough to pose a threat to me." Hollifield growled to Tanner.

"That may be, but it's important to remember that the election is three years away, and that's an eternity in the world of politics. She may have the support of the LibDems at the moment, but there's sure to be some people who don't like the fact that the newcomer is getting all this support. Perhaps we could see if there are any long-time supporters of that party that want to jump to our side?" Tanner replied.

Hollifield considered it as he sipped some water from the kitchenette of the suite, then answered, "Do what you can through back channels on that matter. Anything we can do to twist that damned ponytail that Cally wears everywhere is fine by me. She wants to play down and dirty? Well, so can we!"

Lt. Col. Sharon Valerii addressed the maintenance crew and the deck hands from _Galactica_ and _Pegasus_, who had gathered in the deck near Bay 12 where the new Vipers were being built and transferred to the battlestars. "President Hollifield wanted me to tell you that he admires your hard work and dedication, and is impressed by your ability to bring these new Vipers on-line quicker than any of us had imagined possible. With the Cylon threat still present, your continued efforts to build secondary Vipers will help us towards our goal of defeating the Cylons and reclaiming the Colonial homeworlds." The Earthforce personnel applauded the speech, as did the Colonials, but only half-heartedly. They remembered all too well what one of the Cylon copies of this woman had done to Admiral Adama, and couldn't bring themselves to completely accepting what this woman had to say.

Sensing the discomfort, Valerii simply told them to carry on and made a respectful but discreet departure. Galen Tyrol hadn't applauded at all, still having a hard time dealing not only with the fact that his now deceased lover was a copy based on that woman.

His current girlfriend, Fabby Cortez, was a true original indeed. She turned to Galen and said, "I know why you didn't applaud. Care to talk about it?"

Galen shook his head and said, "Maybe some other time. Right now, we've got work to do." Fabby nodded her head and grabbed her welding torch, then followed him to the new Viper they were working on.

It was common knowledge among the crew that they were a couple, so them being seen together wasn't that shocking. Instead of going to their usual watering hole after work, they went to their next favorite place to hang out at, which was an Italian place called Il Sole del Sud, which was Italian for "sun of the South". The proprietor, a short Neapolitan named Salvatore Gridini, had been on the station since it came online almost a quarter of a century ago, and he still had a way of making the short supply of tomatoes and wheat goes a long way at his place.

To most of her friends, they were baffled that such a proud Mexican woman would be such a fan of Italian food, but Galen knew that there was more to Fabby that just her love of her native land. He hadn't fallen for her because of her heritage, but for her work ethic and her competence.

He hadn't had the courage to ask her what drove her so hard, but, aided by each of them imbibing of some fresh Italian wine, he summoned the courage to ask her. She replied by saying, "The sad part is that, on my world, we still have people who fall for the old stereotypes. One of those about people from my homeland is that we are lazy people who would rather sleep the afternoon away than work hard. It's changed a lot, especially since the collapse of the Mexican economy and the harsh depression that followed back in the 2030s."

"But that's over two hundred years ago on your world! Surely attitudes have changed more since then?" Galen asked.

Fabby nodded and said, "To a degree, they have. However, I had a harsh reality check years ago in Los Angeles…that's a city in a place called California just north of my homeland…when I was called a 'beaner' and a 'wetback' in broad daylight when I was an engineering student at Cal Tech. Try as I did to not let it get to me, it did." Fabby sighed, then ate some of her ravioli.

After she chewed it up, she continued, "For two centuries, Mexicans have been the epitome of hard working people, right along with the Americans. Despite all that my people have accomplished, there's still many white people in power who look down their nose at my people."

"Do you think President Hollifield is one of those people?"

"Hell no! My dad told me once that he saw him kick a guy's ass in San Antonio who called a friend of his a damned greaser back when he was in law school. My dad asked him why he stuck up for the guy, and he said, 'I can't stand people who label somebody something without knowing who they are first.' I found out later that the student was Julio Garza, the current vice-president. My dad knew Garza because my dad trained to be a luchador with him, but tore up his knee and went into engineering instead." Fabby replied.

Galen shook his head and said, "When you showed me what you call lucha libre, I have to admit I was baffled by it. All those men and women in those weird costumes, flying in and out of the ring…"

"If you think that's bad, you should see what they call pro wrestling in America! That stuff is awful!" Fabby said with a chuckle, then paid the bill and escorted him back to his office.

Lee "Apollo" Adama had always thought he was the best pilot he'd ever seen, followed closely by Kara "Starbuck" Thrace. However, when he saw President Hollifield at the controls of the Viper IX, doubt about whom was the best pilot crept into his mind. Despite his age, Hollifield's reflexes were impeccable, and he made maneuvers like a man half his age. Apollo didn't know when the last time Hollifield had been in a fighter, but he must get into those Starfuries that the Earthers used on a regular basis to fly like that.

As they returned to the _Galactica_, they made their way to the Command Information Center, which was getting the Earth moniker of "the bridge" as time went on. Tigh and Captain John Matheson met them there, and it was the commander of the battlestar who asked the president about the new Viper's performance.

"Very good indeed, Commander Tigh! Your pilots are adjusting to the new fighters quite well, especially your CAG, here, Apollo. Damn fine fighter squadron you guys have here!" Hollifield said.

Apollo smiled, which made Tigh a little uncomfortable. Hollifield knew what had happened between the two when then-Commander Adama tried to depose Roslin because of interference in a military matter. Tigh had been in charge of a task force charged with bringing the president into the custody of Adama, but Apollo had turned on Tigh and pointed a pistol in his face, telling him to stand down. Roslin decided to acquiesce and turned herself in to avoid needless bloodshed, but the rift between the two still remained to this day.

Afterwards, Apollo and the president went to the mess hall for some food. The _Galactica_ crew had long since learned that Hollifield didn't stand on ceremony, so seeing him strolling unescorted except for Apollo wasn't that surprising. Each of them got a tray full of food and sat down to eat.

They mainly talked shop about the Vipers as well as flying fighters in general, until Dee Dualla came into the mess. Apollo's eyes went to her and Hollifield's noticed that hers went to his, but both quickly covered it up. The hall was practically deserted at this hour, and both Apollo and Hollifield were almost finished with their meals.

Dee was about to go to another table when the president pointedly said, "Ah, Ms. Dualla! Would you join us please?" He gestured to a chair and Dualla, after a moment, accepted the invitation.

"So, how are things going with adjusting to the new computer systems and communications equipment, Ms. Dualla?" Hollifield asked, and Apollo knew that something was up when the president began to eat a bit faster than he had before.

"It's going very well, sir. We've had a few bugs to work out, but we're able to link up with StellarCom now without trouble, and the computer systems have been tested against various enhanced strains of the Cylon computer virus, and, so far, the systems have held up."

"Good, good!" Hollifield looked up and saw Lt. Margaret Edmonson walk by outside. "Excuse me, you two, but Racetrack just went by, and I need to ask her something. You two kids behave while I'm gone, you hear?" Hollifield quickly wiped his mouth with a napkin, hurriedly turned in his tray to the poor folks who had drawn KP duty, and walked out of the hall.

"Well, he's smooth." Apollo remarked.

"Like sandpaper." Dualla said.

Hollifield caught up to Racetrack, who noticed him and said, "Evening, sir! What can I do for you?"

"Eh, nothing much. Just wanted to ask you about the new Vipers." Hollifield replied.

Racetrack looked back towards the mess, then back to the president and said, "You do know that an enlisted person and an officer aren't supposed to fraternize."

"Yeah, but with the way things are going these days, if you meet someone and hit it off with them, might as well go for it. Besides, I get the feeling his dad won't mind."

Admiral Adama was in Roslin's quarters, sharing some coffee with her. It was the real bean, taken from discreetly placed planters in the hydroponic gardens on the station. It had been a rite of passage for the executive officers on Babylon 5 to look after it, from the original second-in-command Laurel Takashima to the current Sharon Valerii. These days, Laurel Takashima was a general, and had just signed on to work with Ivanova and Cain with the plans to retake the Colonial homeworlds.

But before they could do that, they had to deal with the troubling developments taking place in the Horvan system on the edge of Centauri space. Takashima, who had fought alongside the president during the Drakh plague and was the foremost expert on the Drakh, had just briefed them both.

"So, if these Drakh ally themselves with the Cylons, what does that mean for us?" Roslin asked.

Adama thought for a moment, then got up and filled his cup with more coffee. He gestured with the pot to the president, who shook her head. "I don't know for certain, but from what we've learned today, either way means that we face a much tougher road to get back the Colonial worlds."

Roslin said, "But we will, won't we?"

Adama smiled and said, "Damn right we will!" He held out his cup for a toast, and Roslin clinked cups with him and drank a toast.

"It won't be easy." Adama added, "But with the way the Earthers are helping us, I think we can beat them, with or without the Drakh."

Roslin tossed her head back for a moment, then said, "What's to become of us, Bill? Zarek did make a point the other day during the debate about our culture being absorbed by the Earthers."

"We're alive. That's all that matters now. We'll deal with cultural preservation when the time comes. Right now, preserving the people who live that culture is my job, and I need some sleep." Adama got up and turned to say to his boss, "Good night, Madam President."

"Good night, Admiral." Roslin replied, and Adama left. She smiled when he left and said to herself, "Too bad about the rules about fraternization." She laughed at herself, then got up to go to bed.


	36. Hurricane over Geneva

**Note: contains possible spoilers to second season of Battlestar Galactica **

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Thirty-Six**

**Hurricane Over Geneva**

Senator Clarissa Cally never really liked the capital of Geneva. It seemed to her to be a city too sedate to be the heart and soul of the Earth Alliance. Granted, you couldn't help but notice the mammoth structure known as the Earthdome, which would have dwarfed all the domed stadiums with their retractable roofs back in North America. It was its own miniature city, constructed along the same lines as the domed colonies on Mars. Designed to withstand a nuclear strike or an attack from space, Earthdome was well protected from the outside. However, as always, it was what went on inside the dome that was the real trouble.

As her shuttle landed near the spaceport, she sniffed again at the fact that President Hollifield was on Babylon 5. She didn't understand why the people liked him so much. Yes, he was a war hero and had been instrumental in finding a cure for the Drakh plague, but that was almost a decade ago. He'd won two presidential elections with relative ease, and the polls had him once again looking like a strong contender for yet another term despite the media and public response to her candidacy.

There were more than two parties in Earth Alliance politics these days, but, much like in American politics, it came down to the big two: the Progressive Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. The smaller parties tended to be of the more radical ilk, so they were almost always relegated to alliance partners in governments.

For Cally, this was a short trip to see the Earth Senate leadership in her new party, as well as putting in an appearance at the party headquarters inside the dome. As she stepped out of the shuttle, a cold wind whipped down from the Alps, and she shivered and cursed her ancient predecessors for not having the sense to just locate the Earth Alliance capital in Washington, DC. Granted, it got hot as hell down along that stretch of the Potomac River, but it was much better than freezing parts of your body off here in western Switzerland.

The walk to the limo was a short one though, and she wouldn't have to step outside when she arrived at the Liberal Democrat party headquarters. She made herself a drink and downed it to settle herself before looking over some paperwork before the meeting.

Liberal Democratic leaders tended to be of a moderate liberal bent, much like the president himself. There wasn't a whole lot of difference between the two main parties, which made the switch relatively easy for Cally. She had always gotten along with her Liberal Democratic colleagues when she was in the House, and she most definitely got along with her Senate colleagues in Congress in Washington these days.

They made a spectacle of her arrival for the media, and she waved to the crowd assembled there. Already signs proclaiming "Cally '83" were out in force, which made her smile. Almost all the potential candidates for the presidential nomination would be here, and she intended to effectively eliminate them as soon as possible.

Twanissa Hollifield struggled to walk as she gripped the parallel bars on each side of her. Dr. Shelly Godfrey stood at the other end of the bars, while Twanissa's twin sister, D'anna Biers, stood directly behind the First Lady. Hollifield grunted and grimaced as she slowly walked the course, trusting her legs a little more each day as she went through the grueling physical therapy after her surgery to repair the damage she had suffered from the bike riding accident.

When she got to the end of the bars, she collapsed into the arms of Dr. Godfrey. "Great work, Mrs. Hollifield! You're getting better each day!" said the doctor encouragingly, and she helped the First Lady, with the assistance of D'anna, back into her wheelchair. The First Lady simply nodded and wheeled herself back to Godfrey's office.

When their daily appointment was done, Godfrey made her way out of the hospital and towards a building that housed Gina and Dr. Gaius Baltar. She saw the younger copy of herself almost every day, and it still bothered her a bit that someone would have gone to the trouble of taking her DNA and making clones of her to be used in the destruction of an entire system of humans. That was why when the president approached her about this project, she signed on immediately.

The Earthforce security officer checked her credentials and cleared her to pass on through, remarking to her about the recent outcome of the Oklahoma/Texas game. Godfrey sighed and said, "Yeah, rub it in! Those damned Longhorns got lucky this year!" Her beloved Oklahoma Sooners had been beaten the previous weekend in the Red River Shootout in a huge upset, which saw them knocked off their perch as the highest ranked team in the weekly poll to be replaced by the Georgia Bulldogs, who had beaten Alabama to claim the premiership brass ring of college football for the week.

She shook off her disappointment in that result as she entered the lab where Gina was housed. Baltar lived her as well, and rarely, if reports were accurate, ever left this area. The lab was split into a mock house, with apartments for Baltar and Gina for privacy. Gina was monitored, and it relieved Godfrey that Baltar hadn't tried to make a move on her, because, to her, Baltar gave her the impression of a womanizer. She was glad he'd kept his hands to himself, but a part of her wished he'd at least make a pass at her.

Gina smiled as Godfrey walked into her apartment and happily reported on the progress that they had made in freeing her from the Cylon programming. It was essential to the long-term project, because if they could keep the Cylons from being able to order their humanoid clones, it would give the Colonials and their allies a real weapon in which to turn the tide of the war.

They talked for an hour about how things were going with Gina. Gina informed her that her therapy sessions were going well, and she was making progress in dealing with the emotional scars caused by the brutal rapes and beatings at the hands of the crew of the _Pegasus_. She was eating quite well and had gained some more weight that she had lost because of the trauma. It was a remarkable improvement, considering how she had been when she first arrived here.

When they concluded, she walked over to Baltar's apartment and knocked on the door. Baltar welcomed her in and invited her to sit down on the couch in the living room. "And how are we today, Dr. Godfrey?"

"Tired, exhausted, and beat, like I always am, Dr. Baltar." Godfrey remarked as she brushed back a strand of her messy hair from her face. "So how goes your work with the captured prisoners?"

"It's getting better. They are becoming more independent minded and less inclined to follow the Cylon programming installed within them. The telepaths assigned to us from the Metasensory Bureau have helped a lot, but we've still got a ways to go before we're able to free them completely." Baltar replied.

The meeting was brief, as they always were between them. Godfrey, to Baltar's chagrin, was all business. It also took him by surprise that she dressed so shabbily and so frumpily, like clothes were just something to be worn to cover the body.

When she left, Six came to him and sat down on the same couch where Godfrey sat. Baltar missed the days when Six would seduce him, and remarked upon it to her musingly.

"Those days are long gone, Gaius. How can I seduce you with something that I no longer believe in?" Six replied, wearing, as usual, a conservative business suit that, while it did hug her appealingly firm figure, wasn't exactly titillating. "Besides, wouldn't you rather have a real woman to seduce?"

"What do you mean by that?" Baltar said.

"Well, Dr. Godfrey is single, you know. The only reason she dresses the way she does is because she's a workaholic, and doesn't have anytime for anything other than her job and her children. When this is over, perhaps you could…"

Baltar shook his head violently and said, "Last thing I need is to try and seduce the mother of the woman I used to love. I mean, next thing you'll tell me is to seduce Gina!"

"No, she's off limits to you, Gaius!" Six said with surprising anger. She calmed herself and added, "When the time comes, and she's interested in you, let her come to you. I doubt she will, but you never know."

Gaius sat down in a chair and put his face in his hands. "Why am I even thinking of sex anymore? Look where it got me!"

Six replied, "Look where it got the Colonies! It's not really entirely your fault, Gaius. I had a hand in it as well."

"You know, it's funny. With the way that Dr. Godfrey acts, she's a long way from being a seductress like your used to be!"

Six thought about that for a minute, then said, "Perhaps she might have been in the past, for all we know."

That evening, in her apartment, Godfrey retreated to her room after putting her kids to bed. She got out of her clothes and into her pajamas, then slid under the covers. She hoped the dreams wouldn't come tonight, but they did.

It was back in college, at the University of Oklahoma. She had gone there because she had heard from the older sister of a high school friend of hers that they had some hunky guys there. Having grown up in a very religious household, she yearned to rebel from under her parent's rules and cut loose.

She'd been a total slut in college, learning the art of seduction quickly in college. Shelly had managed to hide her recklessness from her family, who would have disapproved of her bed hopping. She didn't care, as she was having fun and still managing to excel in school.

The night came to her again where that all changed. It was the spring semester of her senior year. They were at a frat party, and Shelly had some sort of alcoholic drink in her hand. She was having a good time when she met a tall white male who asked her to dance.

Later in the evening, she fought to get him off of her, but in her drunken state, she couldn't put up much of a fight. He laughed as she fought back, managing to get what he wanted, then left her there in a heap on the bed and going back to the party.

She couldn't tell her parents of the rape, or the abortion that she had to have when she found out she was pregnant. Her friend Boomer helped her through it all, but she couldn't do what needed to be done: punish the man who had raped Shelly. He stalked her for a while, and made lewd advances towards her. It didn't help that he was the prominent son of an Oklahoma politician. Her friends noticed her change, as the partying, happy-go-lucky Shelly was long gone, replaced by a woman who spent as much time in the library as she used to at parties.

She graduated near the top of her class, and her parents were beaming. She managed to hide the pain and beam with them, but she threw herself into her medical school studies almost immediately. In medical school, she'd met Dieter Krieg, who was just as dedicated to his studies as she was. They fell for each other and eventually got married, graduated from medical school, and had kids.

It hadn't worked out, because Dieter's bisexuality became an issue as he began to lean towards an attraction towards men. Shelly let him go and divorced him, and they shared joint custody of the kids. Curiously enough, they got along better now than they had when they were married, and Dieter and his partner Michel were great with the kids.

When she woke up the next morning, she could feel that she had cried during the night. It had been one of those bad dreams again, and she walked to the bathroom to shower and try to come to life again. Sometimes, she thought, it was tempting to end it all, but she quickly dismissed the thought as she remembered her kids. They meant the world to her, and she wanted to be there for them.

In a way, she had another kid as well: Gina. In fact, she probably had a lot of kids, for all she knew. One of the reasons she had gone along with this project was to help them gain some measure of revenge upon those who had created them just to use them. From her experiences with the other human Cylons, they had independent thoughts and wills of their own. They were just as much of a victim of the mechanical Cylons as she had been of that spoiled brute that had raped her years ago.

However, the brute got what was coming to him, as he had been jailed for attempting to rape Miss Oklahoma five years ago. The judge didn't like his dad, so he sentenced the young man to the maximum sentence in a maximum-security prison. As karma had a way of working, he was murdered by his cellmate for using a racial slur against him. She took no pleasure at the news, just some satisfaction that justice has somehow been served.

She managed to find some clean clothes as well as a clean lab jacket, but she knew she'd have to find some time soon to do the laundry. Her boys were old enough to do it themselves, so she left a note on the fridge for Dieter to get the boys to help him take the dirty clothes to the launderette in the building to wash up. Once that was done, she left for yet another day at work.

Senator Cally hadn't wanted to stay the night in Geneva, but when she found out what the president was up to, she decided to skip the flight back and stay for the party at the Liberal Democrat headquarters. The free flowing alcohol loosened some tongues of some higher-ups, and she found out that the president was going to use the secret Cylon prisoners in an attempt to free them from their programming and to rebel against their mechanical creators.

In theory, she agreed with what he was doing, but she despised him so much that she wanted to use his project against him. He always railed against the way that the Psi Corps had used telepaths and how corporations used employees, so it would be sweet to throw the project in his face. She couldn't come out and say it just yet, because the whole project fell under ultra violet security, so disclosing it publicly would wind her up in jail, and put a premature end to her burgeoning political career.

However, she knew of certain reporters who didn't like the president either, and who had ways of digging around and finding more information about the project. More than that, they had ways of getting said information downgraded to lower security clearances, so that, when the time was right, she would be able to use it against the president and bring his little attempt at empire building to an end.

When she returned to DC, it was raining heavily. She had tickets to the Washington Generals game against the New York Jets, but decided to skip the game and gave them to some of her staffers instead. She curled up in her blanket on the couch and watched the game instead in her living room, and smiled with glee as the Generals pounded the hapless Jets, much like she hoped to do with Hollifield at the polls in three years time.


	37. Rekindling the Fire

**Note: Contains possible spoilers for the second season of Battlestar Galactica**

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Thirty-Seven**

**Rekindling The Fire**

Emperor Vir Cotto would forever be grateful to the technomages Finian and Gwynn for their help in overthrowing the Drakh influence from his homeworld. However, now it seemed as if there was a price to be paid for that help, as they entered his throne room behind Alwyn and Galen. General Rhys, head of the Centauri military, was there as well, and neither of them looked forwards to the meeting, because if it went the way that Cotto feared it would, it would mean a lot of trouble.

Galen got right to the heart of the matter, as he said without preamble, "The Drakh have begun to step up there efforts in the Horvan system. From what we have observed, Your Highness, they may be ready to enter Vorlon space and either attack the Cylons or join with them in an alliance."

Cotto's fears were beginning to be realized. Rhys asked why they weren't able to determine which way they would go, and Alwyn answered, "They may suspect that we may be watching them, so they are holding their cards close to their chest. Your military, along with the Alliance, has been taking a devastating toll on their forces, and they are in desperate straits currently. While an alliance would be the most likely outcome, it would not surprise me if they tried to take the Cylons and their weaponry by force."

"But what good would that do them? Surely the Cylons can defend themselves, can they not?" asked Vir.

"Yes, but they would be outmatched nonetheless, and they would still lose control over their human Cylon copies, which is what I suspect that the Drakh may be after. If they were able to get hold of them, the possible havoc they could cause is unimaginable. We know what they did by themselves to the Colonies, and with the Drakh on their side, it could be even much more deadly to the humans, and, perhaps, to the Alliance as a whole." Galen answered.

They went over the disposition of the forces in the Horvan system, and it clearly looked like some sort of invasion force of some kind. Hundreds of ships, from destroyers to carriers to several motherships, were deployed in the system. They had no idea how many basestars that the Cylons had, but they would need hordes of them to fight off what the Drakh were bringing to this fight.

However, the question remained unanswered as to whom the Drakh wanted to fight. "Nothing in the universe is as it seems, Your Highness." Alwyn said, "The Drakh had more than enough forces to do untold damage to the Cylons in the Colonial system, yet they did nothing. However, that doesn't mean that they won't attack in the future."

Rhys walked away from the table and to the window, looking out for a moment, then walked back and said exasperatedly, "Well, what do we do? How do we approach all of this? We need to know what the enemy is up to before we commit our forces to any course of action!"

"The General is right, Alwyn. We need answers to our questions. We can assume all we want, but we can't effectively plan a response until we know what they are up to." Cotto added.

"I understand your frustration. Believe me, we share your concerns. We shall go back and attempt to find those answers for you, but I do have a suggestion." Galen said.

"What is that?" Cotto asked.

"Send some of your forces to Babylon 5. That is where the Colonials are, and, it's the most likely candidate for an attack. I understand that Earthforce has a fleet already there, as well as another one jump away. I'm sure the Minbari will have ships nearby just waiting to respond to an attack. Anything you can do to help bolster their forces there would help, but it's important to not over commit yourselves." Galen answered.

The meeting finished and the four technomages exited the throne room and headed back to their ships. Finian and Gwynn were sent to monitor events going on in the Horvan system, while Alwyn and Galen took their ships and departed into different directions. Galen went to Babylon 5 with the Gideons and Dureena Nafeel to brief the Colonials as well as Sheridan and Garibaldi on what was going on. Alwyn, meanwhile, took off for the Colonial system to see if he could find the Cylon homeworld.

Alwyn was aided by G'Leel, a Narn that he had encountered via Galen during the Shadow War. She had been working for a freighter that routinely transported supplies to a world called Thenothk 4, which was a major war-manufacturing center for the allies of the Shadows. Alwyn had come there to rescue Galen and another technomage, Blaylock, years before when they had been on a mission to discover if the Shadows had, in fact, come back to wage war on the rest of the galaxy.

It had been Galen and Isabelle who had encountered G'Leel on Zafran 8, where Isabelle and her mother, the technomage, Burell, lived. It was there that they had discovered the link between that planet and Thenothk 4, via the Narn freighter, which G'Leel served as second-in-command on. She had been a huge help to their cause, and had joined up with Alwyn after the rescue mission, having helped Galen enter the central command center to rescue Blaylock from the traitorous technomages, Razeel and Elizar.

G'Leel had left for a time to travel back to Narn to help in the recovery, but had encountered Na'Toth, former aide to ambassador G'Kar. Na'Toth and G'Leel both joined the Rangers and were among the first Narns to graduate the training program. Delenn knew of G'Leel's connection to Alwyn, so assigned her to work with him to try and establish a connection to the technomages. G'Leel had been working for years with Alwyn to get them to come out of hiding, but to no avail.

Alwyn helped her in this because he saw the folly of hiding. They were a dying order, unable to generate the tech they used in their bodies since it originated from the very Shadows themselves. The Drakh had helped out with the development of the tech, but they themselves didn't know how to make it. The head of the Circle, the governing body of the technomage order, Herazade, had convinced enough of the five members of the Circle to stay hidden time and again, afraid that the mages would be used by the Drakh.

He knew that Galen sent them regular reports, but thought nothing of it until he was surprised by a sudden message that appeared to him while on his way to Vorlon space. It was from the student of Herazade, Frederico, who was on the Circle and served as the eyes and ears of the mages inside the hiding place.

"Alwyn, old friend, I have been asked by Herazade to see if you would come to the hiding place. She and the rest of the Circle need to speak with you." Frederico said in the electronic incantation, which was the quickest way to communicate over long distances. He had chosen the abandoned religious commune on Selic 4 for it, with its cramped quarters that the mages had used as a staging area for the eventual move to the hiding place.

Alwyn looked at him with contempt and said, "I was told that if I came there I would be flayed for disobeying a direct order of the Circle for not joining them in the hiding place. If it's all the same to you, I would rather not experience what its like to have the strands of tech inside my body ripped out of me."

"They've pardoned you, Alwyn, and you know how hard it was for Herazade to do, given how she is about obedience. They need to talk to you, and they want to assure you that you will not be harmed, just as long as you don't give away the location of our hiding place."

Alwyn was intrigued, and decided to follow his hunch. He accepted the offer and changed course to Babylon 5, where he would drop off G'Leel with Galen and the others. Galen asked him why he would accept such an offer.

"Curiosity, you could say. They know of what is going on here from you, Gwynn, and Finian, so they must have some concern about these Cylons. Curious they didn't ask you to come to them." Alwyn replied.

Galen's face showed concern for his old friend. "I know that they mean you no harm, but I am still concerned. Why do they want to know what is going on?"

Alwyn set a hand on his shoulder and said to him, "Well, that's what I am going to find out, my boy! Frederico will meet me in a nearby system and escort me blindly to the hiding place, and he'll escort me back when we are finished. When I am done, I'll come back to you and let you in on all the juicy gossip."

Galen replied, "Juicy gossip I could do without! I want to know why they are so intrigued by all of this. I should go along with you!"

"No. It's more important to find out what the Cylons are up to. Once you're finished briefing Sheridan and the others, you should go there yourself." Alwyn turned to leave, but then stopped and said, "Oh, and, just in case I don't get back, keep an eye on G'Leel for me."

Galen did something totally unlike him, and that was to hug his old friend. The gesture caught Alwyn by surprise, as showing affection for anyone was unlike Galen. "Be well, Alwyn." Alwyn nodded and departed for his ship.

A day later, the Gideons, G'Leel, Dureena Nafeel, and he had finished loading supplies onto his black triangular ship, and they went off to find the Colonial system again, and, with luck, find the Cylon homeworld as well.

His girlfriend Dureena came to him in a quiet moment on board the ship and asked him, "Do you think he'll be ok?"

"Alwyn can take care of himself. What worries me is why the other mages asked him and not me to come back there. I worry that there may be some among the mages who are intrigued by the possibility of a Cylon/Drakh alliance."

"Why would that be?" Dureena asked.

"Because there are still some who cling to the belief that we can somehow find a new way to generate the tech and bring in new mages. Since it appears that the Cylons have some familiarity with organic technology, it naturally intrigues them. What bothers me is if there may be some who would sell out our kind to the Drakh just to survive."

Dureena nodded and sat down on a nearby bench. "I hope you're wrong, Galen."

Galen sighed and said, "I hope so too. Because if I'm not, then our troubles will multiply exponentially."


	38. Reflections of the Past

**Note: may contain spoilers for second season of Battlestar Galactica**

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Thirty-Eight**

**Reflections of the Past**

It was an irony that Garrison Hollifield was president of the Earth Alliance. In many ways, he felt more comfortable on Babylon 5 or on Minbar than on the very homeworld in which he served as president. Granted, he loved Earth with all of his heart, but the place seemed to also haunt him at the same time.

The thirty-second anniversary of the Battle of the Line was coming up soon, and the day always haunted him, having been one of only two hundred survivors of a battle in which twenty-five thousand humans went into said confrontation. It was the final battle of the Earth-Minbari War, and many humans were still puzzled why the Minbari surrendered on the eve of victory.

He knew, of course, because he was there. He had led Beta Squadron, while his friend, Jeffery Sinclair, led Alpha Squadron. No one expected to come back from the battle alive. Their job was to hold off the Minbari long enough so that a few transports containing humans could get away from Earth before the Minbari turned their weapons onto his homeworld.

It had been an uneasy night of sleep the night before. He knew what was coming, and his nightmares weren't about the battle, but the aftermath of it. Hollifield could see cities reduced to heaping slags of black glass under the beam weapons on the Minbari cruisers. To the Minbari, this was a holy war, and the humans must be wiped out for killing the Chosen One, Dukhat, during their first contact.

His first wife had committed suicide months earlier. Victoria and he had been separated, and her emotional problems had finally gotten the best of her. She had left a suicide note in her apartment in New Orleans and hung herself off the balcony. Despite the fact that the crowd below had managed to get her down relatively quickly, the bed sheet she had used as a noose had broken her neck and killed her immediately.

Since then, he had pretty much fought the war expecting to die at any moment. He didn't care anymore, except for the people around him. His best friend was his wingman, Pamela Desmon. She hailed from Sydney, Australia, and she'd been with him the night of his wife's suicide. They had bonded since then, but were still just friends. He knew that Pamela was attracted to him, but he couldn't bear to get involved with her with the war going on and the death of his wife still fresh in his mind.

They were in the locker room, packing up gear to get ready to launch into space the next morning when the president came over the loud speaker. From the way she sounded, she already knew the way the battle was going to go. Before being assigned command of this squadron, he had served as captain of the presidential guard for Elizabeth Levy. Levy was an old friend of his father and his uncle Walter, and had granted him this assignment on their behalf. Hollifield hadn't liked it, but he had figured that it was his duty to carry out his assignment. Then the war came, and he felt guilty that so many of his friends were dying and he was in the one safe place on Earth.

_"This is ... This is the president. I have just been informed that our midrange military bases at Beta Deroni and Proxima Three have fallen to the Minbari advance. We have lost contact with Io and must conclude that they to have fallen to an advanced force. Our military intelligence believes that Minbari intend to by pass Mars and hit Earth directly and the attack may come at any time. We have continued to broadcast our surrender and a plea for mercy and they have not responded. We therefore can only conclude that we stand at the twilight of the Human race. In order to buy more time for our evacuation transports to leave Earth, we ask for support of every ship capable of fighting, to take part in a defense of our homeworld. We will not lie to you. We do not believe survival is a possibility. We believe that anyone who joins this battle, will never come home again. But for every ten minutes, we can delay the military advance, several hundred more civilians may have a chance to escape to neutral territory. Though Earth may fall, the Human race must have a chance to continue elsewhere. No greater sacrifice has ever been asked of a people, but I ask you now, to step forward one last time. One last battle to hold the line against the night! May God go with you all."_

His squadron's heart broke at that moment, as did his. They began to go their separate ways, leaving Pamela and Garrison in the locker room by themselves. They stared off into space for seemingly forever before they noticed that they weren't alone.

"It's over, isn't it? We go up there tomorrow, we don't come back." Pamela said soberly.

Garrison nodded and added, "Well, maybe there's still a chance for a miracle. I'm not counting on it, but you've got to have some hope if you're going to get into a Starfury and ride fire against the bone heads tomorrow."

"Any plans for your last night on Earth?" she asked.

"Now that you mention it, no. I was just going to go back to my billet and try to sleep before tomorrow morning. Why?"

"Your billet mate isn't in, is he?"

"Hobson? No, he's already on the _Endeavor_. He shipped up a few days ago, so I've had a room to myself these last few days."

Pamela walked over to him and sat beside him, then spoke up again. "I want you to take me back to your room and make love to me, Garrison."

This surprised Garrison, and Pamela continued, "I've fallen for you. I can't help it. Even before Vicki died, I've had a thing for you. I've not wanted to act upon it until you were ready to, but, since this is the last night we'll probably be alive, well…"

Garrison saw her eyes wet with tears, and he stood up, taking her by the hand and helping her to her feet. They stood there for a moment staring at each other, slowly closing in on one another. She then grabbed his head and kissed his mouth furiously, as if her very life depended on it. They began to passionately make out right there, and broke only long enough to run down to his billet.

From the moans and groans going on around his room, this idea wasn't exactly a unique one. He didn't care as he shucked off his uniform and tossed it on Dean Hobson's bed. Pamela was out of hers just as quickly, and they stood before each other naked to the world. Garrison took her over to the bed, gently laid her down onto it, and climbed onto her to begin making love to her.

They hadn't gotten any sleep that night at all, because when they finished, the sun was just beginning to climb over the horizon. "You know, we forgot all about protection." Garrison remarked.

She snorted, saying, "Who cares if I'm pregnant? I'm still going up this morning anyway, and neither of us will live long enough to see it to term anyhow."

"Yeah, you're right. Guess we should start getting ready." Garrison began to get up, but Pamela stopped him.

"If, by some chance, we both make it back, can I ask you to do something for me?"

"What's that?"

Pamela grew serious as she said, "If we somehow both make it back, I want to marry you. Hell, it may be a mistake, but I'm willing to take that chance if you are."

Garrison smiled, climbed back on top of her, and kissed her again. Things would have started up again had it not been for an announcement over the intercom that they had to be at the shuttle in thirty minutes.

Hours later, he was sitting in his Star Fury, expecting to die very soon. He was surprisingly calm, he found, as he checked his instruments. His squadron was in radio silence as the Minbari jumped into normal space. He got a fix on a Minbari fighter and went after it, knowing that time was running out. He nailed it in the aft engines and blew it up with his pulse cannons, then swung his fighter around to get another one.

He didn't know what had happened to his squadron. In the end, all but his and Pamela's fighter had been taken out right at the beginning. Pamela's was heavily damaged, but she had somehow survived the impact, being knocked cold by the beam from the impact of another fighter that had knocked out her engines and her weapons systems. To the Minbari, her fighter looked dead in space, and she was left alone.

He saw Sinclair's fighter head towards a Minbari cruiser, hearing over his communications system that Sinclair was going to ram it. Hollifield decided to follow suit and ordered his fighter to follow behind Sinclair's, not really giving a damn if he was about to be vaporized by a beam.

Suddenly, he saw a beam of light hit Sinclair's fighter, which seemed to knock out the engines. Another came along and began to pull in the fighter, and that pissed Hollifield off. "The hell you're taking Jeff prisoner!" he screamed as he went to ram Sinclair's fighter with his own, but the same beam hit his ship and he was knocked out.

When he came to, he was tied to some sort of crossbar. His mind scanned for life signs, and he found Sinclair's mind, as well as many alien ones. He looked over and saw Sinclair, who was being scanned with some sort of triangular device. It suddenly glowed, and the entire room seemed to change.

One of them said something about Valen, and Hollifield began to understand a bit of what they were saying. He had learned Minbari in his spare time as captain of the guard, on the off chance that they might come to the senses and want a peaceful solution. He knew about Valen from the texts that the Centauri envoy, Londo Mollari, had given him, but he couldn't figure out what the connection was between Sinclair and Valen.

The Minbari who had held up the triangular device came over to him and said to another Minbari dressed in a gray robe. "What are we to do with the telepath?" said the Minbari, a female from what he could tell, in their language.

"He may know the secret. Best to get rid of him to protect what we know.", the other Minbari said, also in their language.

"No!" he said in Minbari. "You need someone to watch over him! I can do that for you!" Hollifield didn't know why he said it, but it had come out of him in their language. The two Minbari had looked at him in surprise, and the female asked him, "You know our language?"

"I studied it. Please, don't kill me! I know that Sinclair means a lot to you, in some way. You need someone to make sure he does what you want him to. I can help you out, if you'll let me."

They decided to take him up on his offer. The female turned out to be Delenn, and she told him everything about Valen, and how Jeffery Sinclair was, in fact, Valen. Hollifield didn't know whether to believe it or not, but with the way the Minbari seemed so sure of it, he chose to buy into it anyway. He didn't care, because he would live and the Earth would live on.

The Minbari surrendered, and it shocked everyone. Sinclair and Hollifield were found the next day, and that's where things got screwy. Sinclair was suspected of being influenced by the Minbari, while Hollifield was not even questioned about what happened to him. He knew it was unfair, but there was a point to it all. Sinclair had to be protected, and Hollifield did what he could with his telepathy and his other skills to make sure that the one who would become Valen wasn't sidetracked.

Pamela and he were married weeks later by his uncle, and they were happy for most of their marriage. However, the campaign to re-elect Hollifield's mentor, Luis Santiago, had strained the relationship, and his accepting Santiago's offer to become chief of staff really damaged the marriage. At the time of Santiago's assassination, they were separated.

Clark took the oath of office, and the Minbari revealed to Clark part of their secret: that humans were getting Minbari souls. Clark didn't believe it, but it was a way to get Sinclair out of his hair, so he accepted the Minbari offer to have Sinclair become ambassador to Minbar with one condition: Hollifield would be his deputy. The Minbari agreed and Hollifield was to leave immediately to assume his new post.

Hollifield knew what was coming, and before he left, he went to see his estranged wife. "What do you want, Garrison?" she said brusquely.

"Listen, Pamela, I know we aren't what we used to be, but if you have ever trusted me, trust me now." Hollifield said in an almost desperate voice.

The tone got through to her, and she asked, "Why?"

"I know for a fact that Santiago was murdered, and that Clark was behind it. Look, some very bad things are about to happen. Clark and his people are going to go after anyone associated with Santiago, and since you're my wife, you're on the list."

Pamela knew he was serious, and asked him, "What do you want me to do?"

"Go to Mars." He handed her a piece of paper. "I have some friends in the Martian underground, back during the food riots after the war. Just look up one of these people, tell them who you are, and they'll see you to safety. When things get better, I'll come for you."

"And then?" she asked.

"We'll see where we stand there. If you still want to get divorced, then I'll sign the papers. If you want to give it another try, then we'll do it. Just do what I ask, if you have any love left for me. I don't want them to harm you, but I fear they will to get to me."

Pamela's eyes watered and they kissed. He left soon after and so did she. They didn't see each other for four years, as she had gotten caught up in the events in the Martian underground. But when she had heard that he was running for vice-president along with Suzanna Luchenko, she made contact with him again. He smiled when he saw her, because he had feared she'd been killed. They made love that night like they had on the eve of the Battle of the Line, and they became man and wife once again.

As Hollifield walked into his suite on Babylon 5, he remembered that it didn't last. She had been killed saving him during an assassination attempt on board the station as he was negotiating with the provisional Martian government. He still was mad at himself for not taking the bullet, but there was nothing to be done. Pamela was buried in her family's plot just outside Sydney, and he was now married to another Australian woman, Twanissa.

He was staring at her picture when the chime to his door sounded. "Enter!" he said to the computer, and the door swung open, with Lee "Apollo" Adama entering his quarters. "Sir, my father needs to speak with you about something. Do you have a moment?"

"Sure." He got up from the couch and was about to leave with the younger Adama when he stopped. "Lee, are you attracted to Dee?"

"What?" Apollo said, surprised by the question.

"Listen. Take it from this old spacer: when a chance at love comes along, it's best to go for it, because you never know when it'll come around again, or if you'll be around long enough for it to even have a chance at coming around."

Apollo was a bit perplexed at the impromptu advice and managed to reply, "I'll think about it, sir. Now, if you will…" He gestured down the hall and Hollifield followed him to meet with the commander of the Colonial fleet.


	39. The Temptation of Alfred Bester

**Writer's Note: Possible spoilers are contained in this chapter for the second season of Battlestar Galactica. Also, parts of this chapter were written with exerpts taken from the Psi Corps trilogy of Babylon 5 novels written by J. Gregory Keyes.**

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Thirty-Nine**

**The Temptation of Alfred Bester**

Ever since he arrived on this world, Alfred Bester had the sneaking suspicion that something was up. Kevin Vacit, the former director of the Psi Corps and the man who ran things here on this world, had been slowly getting him up to speed as to what he had been up to on the planet. He told him of the Cylons coming to this world in search of a new home for themselves, finding himself and the remnants of Vorlon experiments, and reaching an agreement with them to assist one another in gaining vengeance upon those who had victimized them. The Cylons had been so impressed with what this single human had done on this world that they essentially became their mentor and guide.

Bester accepted this all in stride, but the real question he wanted to ask Vacit was why he had chosen him to be brought here to assist him. These days, Bester was an old man himself, who hadn't much longer to live. For the last decade since his arrest and trial, he had languished in prison, his talent hindered by sleepers given to him once a week, and endlessly writing and editing his memoirs. Then he was sprung from prison and brought here, for reasons he did not know.

Vacit had been clever enough to skirt around the questions he had asked about why he was here, giving him only morsels when the whole slice of bread of information would better satisfy. Bester, for the most part, was left to his own devices, usually walking around and touring the place, occasionally in the company of Talia Winters.

Then the day of revelation came, when Vacit called him into his office. It was a rather plain room, with a desk and three chairs, one of which Vacit sat in behind said desk. "Ah, Mr. Bester! Please be seated!" Vacit said, and Bester sat down in one of the chairs. "So you want to know why you are here?"

Bester replied, "It's a valid question. I doubt you brought me here for my health, or for concern for my welfare. Considering what you're doing here and what you're planning, it's a legitimate question."

Vacit smiled and said, "Then I shall do just that. However, to fully understand why I chose you, we must go back into your past. Do you ever think of who your parents were?"

Bester suddenly became uncomfortable, and his left hand clenched up tighter than it already was. "They were killed in an attack by rogues when I was just an infant. When I was a kid, I sometimes could picture their images in the stars at night."

Vacit laughed slightly, which puzzled Bester. "You do know the truth, don't you? You're just afraid to confront it."

"You know who they were?"

Vacit leaned back in his chair, "You found out when you confronted Stephen Walters on Mars years ago. My assistant, Natasha Alexander, was there with you on the raid, remember?"

_How could he know about that?_ Bester thought as he said, "He tried to confuse me, to throw me off with images made up in his head…."

Vacit shook his head, "Self-deception is never a good thing, Mr. Bester. Is that why ever since then your left hand has been virtually paralyzed, even though no evidence of nerve damage has ever been found?"

Bester didn't like where this conversation was going, but like someone passing by the site of a brutal accident, he was unable to turn away from it. He remembered the encounter all too well. Growing up, he had blamed Walters for keeping the telepath underground alive, even after the main organizers of it, Matthew and Fiona Dexter, had been killed shortly after he was born. Bester and his partner, Erik Andersen, had tracked him to an isolated location in the middle of nowhere. It was an abandoned privateer's colony, having since been occupied by Walters and his underground allies.

His bloodhound agents wee just about to enter the final room when the explosion came. An instant before, he had felt him, and had the faint sensations of familiarity and warmth come to life inside of him. He was puzzled as the blast slammed him onto the floor, knocking him out briefly.

When he came to, he realized the seal on his air mask was broken. Instead of nourishing oxygen, his lungs were taking in the slow poison of the carbon dioxide air that made up the Martian atmosphere. He looked over and saw someone crushed against a collapsed bulkhead, and instantly recognized him as Stephen Walters.

_I know you._ Walters said to Bester telepathically.

_I was on in New Zealand._, Bester replied, _I tracked you here._

_No. Before that. I know you. Oh. God in heaven! It's my fault! Fiona, Matthew, forgive-_ Walters said as he realized who it was that had caught him.

Bester was paralyzed and confused. He asked him, _What are you talking about?_

_I know the feel of you. I saw you born-after all I had done, after all of the blood on my hands, but they let me watch you come into the world, and you were so beautiful I cried. You were our hope, our dream-_

_My name is Alfred Bester._

_We called you Stee, so you wouldn't be confused with me. They gave you my name, made me your godfather. Your mother, Fiona, how I loved her. Matthew, I loved him too, but God- _Walters almost died as a massive wave of pain swept over him, but he managed to hang on and continue. _It was me that had lost you. I thought I could save them, but they knew they wouldn't make it. All they asked for me to get you out, keep you free, and I failed them. Failed-_

Bester countered, _Matthew and Fiona Dexter were terrorists. They died when the bomb they were planting in a housing compound went off early. The bomb they set off killed my parents._

_Lies._ Walters rebutted, as his mental voice grew weak. _They fed you lies. You are Stephen Kevin Dexter._

_No!_ Bester cried out in his mind, desperately trying to disbelieve what he was being told.

Walters pulled off his mask and their eyes met. In Bester's mind, he could see a woman with dark red hair and changeable eyes. A black-tressed man. Both of them all smiles. He had known them all along. They looked down onto him in a crib, talking baby talk. He felt their love-a love so strong that it easily overpowered anything he had ever felt before.

_They loved you. I loved you. I love you still. Psi Corps killed them and they took you away. I tried to find you._

Bester's PPG pistol was in his left hand, for reasons he never knew. He fired, and Walters was shot.

_Shut up!_ Bester cried in his mental voice as he fired again. _Shut up!_

_Fiona…Matthew…_ Walters still lay there, dying. _You can't destroy the truth._ Walters's last words sent into Bester's mind as he died, the mental image of going through a doorway and never coming back fresh in his mind.

_No! _Bester cried out, and he squeezed his left hand hard until the images went away.

In Vacit's office, Bester realized that, for the first time in decades, his left hand lay open. He clenched it again, then let it open up again.

"So it was true after all!" Bester said.

"Of course it was true, Al. You knew it all along, but were afraid of what would happen to you if anyone would find out!"

Bester turned to Vacit and said, "But that's not all. Want to know why you have the middle name of Kevin?"

"How did I get that?" Bester said, and then he knew.

Vacit got surprisingly emotional as he said, "Fiona Dexter was my daughter. Before I became director of Psi Corps, back when I worked for Lee Crawford, I met a woman. Her name was Ninon Davion, and she was a woman I fell in love with. Technically, she would be married to someone else, a compatible telepath, but we carried on the affair until she died in an accident shortly before Crawford died. I sent our child into the underground through a contact I knew by the name of Monkey.

"They found her in Indonesia. At the time, I kept the underground alive because I felt it was necessary for the fight ahead against the Shadows. She met Matthew Dexter in a camp there, and Stephen Walters sprang both out on my orders.

"Years later, she had a child: you. At the time, I had come to realize that my experiment with the underground wasn't working, so I decided to shut it down. I wanted to bring them back alive, along with you, but they didn't want to come back, and gave their lives to help the rest of the rogues escape."

"So you're my grandfather?" Bester asked.

"Yes." Vacit replied.

Before they could go on, Talia Winters knocked on the door. Vacit told her to enter, and she came in. She nodded to Bester, then told Walters, "Our guests are arriving. They'll be landing shortly."

"Good! Come, Mr. Bester! I want you to see this!" Vacit said. Bester, still shocked with all these revelations, followed automatically.

It was when he looked up and saw the Drakh ships landing that he snapped back into reality. "What the hell are they doing here?" Bester asked his grandfather.

Vacit smiled back and said, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend. The Drakh enemies are the humans, as they are our enemies. The Drakh have been desperately looking for allies to help them turn the tide in their war with the Interstellar Alliance, and we've been looking for a way to strike at the normals on Earth. So we sent them an invitation to talk, and so…"

"But the Shadows hated telepaths!" Bester countered.

"No, they didn't hate them. Why do you think they got to Clark and used him to manipulate Psi Corps to assist them instead of the Vorlons?

"Alfred, you have a decision to make. If you wish, I can send you back to Earth with Talia and see if they can hide you out somewhere. Or, if you desire, you can join me and help liberate our people from the mundanes and the traitors like Garrison Hollifield! The Drakh will help us take down the Interstellar Alliance and destroy the last vestiges of the Colonials which enslaved the Cylons! You know which side I want you to join, but it must be your choice."

Bester remembered all the slights he had had at those who ran the Alliance. He smiled at the thought of finally defeating Sheridan, Hollifield, Delenn, Garibaldi, and the others. It took only a moment for him to decide.

He extended his hand to his grandfather and Vacit shook it. "You've got a deal…grandfather!" Vacit smiled and embraced his grandson. Then the two watched as more Drakh ships landed at the spaceport, with the transport landing closest to the terminal.

"We'd better go. It's time to meet our new allies!" Vacit said, and Bester followed along with Talia Winters. Their Centurion guards accompanied them as they left the deck above his office.

Watching them go were copies of Leoben Conoy and Aaron Doral, and they were not happy with the proceedings. Copies of D'anna Biers and Shelly Godfrey came up to them and D'anna said, "Did you see those aliens land on our homeworld?"

"Yes, I did! Why would the Imperious Leader need these lesser beings as allies in our fight against the Colonials?" Conoy said.

Godfrey replied, "Maybe we've been fighting for the wrong side." She shut up as some Cylon Centurions passed by. They decided to shelve the discussion until later, as the area began to get busy with the arrival of the guests. Vacit thought he had all the bases covered, but he had no idea that insurrection was beginning to brew right underneath his nose.


	40. Unholy Alliance

**Spoiler Warning: May contain spoilers for the second season of Battlestar Galactica**

**Writer's Note: I addressed a comment made about the relationship between Galen and Dureena in this chapter, so hopefully the reader who made it will understand why I went the way I did in their part of the story.**

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Forty**

**Unholy Alliance**

Galen's fears had been realized: the Drakh had developed an alliance with the Cylons. He had hoped that the Drakh would choose to attack the Cylons and weaken the both of them, meaning that the Interstellar Alliance could eventually take down each side at their leisure. Now, as he looked through the visual sensors on the microscopic probes that had made their way onto some of the Cylons, he realized that they had already had some preliminary contacts of some kind. That worried him even more, and he broke contact with the probes, walked over to a nearby bench, and sat down.

Dureena Nafeel came onto the bridge of the ship and saw her lover with his head in his hands. She sat down beside him and asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's like I feared, Dureena. The Cylons and the Drakh have an alliance, all right. What's worse, though, is that it appears as if they've had contact before. If that's so, then it doesn't bode well for the lot of us."

She put her head on his shoulder, and he leaned her head onto hers, and they sat there silently for a while. It wasn't supposed to have come to this, but, somewhere along the line, their teacher/student relationship had turned into a relationship of equals.

He had spotted her years ago, on a planet out on the Rim. Back then, she was just a thief in the Thieves' Guild, eeking out a living as best she could. Then the Drakh began to move against the Interstellar Alliance, and Galen had to act. Dureena was one of the ones he chose, and he eventually led her to meet with Interstellar Alliance president John Sheridan. Had it not been for her observation that the Shadow planet killer the Drakh were going to use against Earth, the humans might have already been decimated from the loss of their homeworld.

Instead, they got a plague, and Captain Matthew Gideon, who saw her as an asset he could use that no other Earthforce officer was able to give him, brought Dureena on board the crew of the Excalibur. Galen took Dureena under his wing and he eventually began to teach her some of what he knew.

It took three years to find the cure, and in that time, Dureena had learned a lot. She knew she could never become a technomage like Galen had, because there was no way to replicate the tech that the mages used. However, after her tour of duty with the crew of the _Excalibur _was over, she joined the Rangers.

Galen hadn't seen Dureena for almost a decade until things began to heat up on Centauri Prime. When they were reunited, Dureena had changed. Instead of a simple student, he saw that she was an adept warrior these days, and considered one of the best Rangers by her peers. She commanded a Whitestar when they reunited, and she had helped him as well as Hollifield in the liberation of Centauri Prime from the Drakh.

Since then, they had been inseparable, as she was the Rangers' liaison with the technomages. Sheridan and Delenn wanted to bring the technomages around to coming out of their hiding place, and they felt that Dureena could be the key to that. Dureena had told them that it probably would not work, but they had sent her anyway, so she had teamed up with the technomage she best knew: Galen.

They hadn't intended for their relationship to stray from friendship into a romance, but an incident on Sentara 4 had broken the last walls between them. Dureena had been hit with a poisonous dart, and Galen worked feverishly to save her life, sending his own organelles into her body in a dire effort to counteract the effects of the poison. He had succeeded, but it had been a close call. She had to go back to Minbar to recover for a few weeks, and Galen didn't leave her side during all of this.

When she had recovered and well enough to return to duty, she walked back onto his ship and they took off. They were on their way to another world, this one near the Rim, when she asked him, on a hunch, about how he felt about her. Unlike his usual confident answers, he hemmed and hawed around, before he finally admitted that he had feelings for her. She smiled and said simply, "I feel the same way.", and kissed him. From then on, their romance blossomed.

When Matthew and Elizabeth Gideon reunited with Galen and Dureena, they were surprised by how the relationship had changed. Now that they all worked together to monitor the new Drakh/Cylon alliance, and they all got used to the changes that had happened since their lives first intersected aboard _Excalibur_. They were older, wiser, and different. Whether they were better or not, they did not know.

Galen stayed over the planet for two days, monitoring things as best he could. He got a lot of information on both the Drakh and the Cylons, and he intended to take it to Minbar as soon as he could. As for Earth, he had a much faster way to get his information to President Hollifield, who had returned to Geneva.

Andromeda lived in the small university town of Boone, North Carolina. Her house was up on a nearby mountain, which cleverly hid her technomage place of power. She was a professor of history at Appalachian State University, using the name Andrea Medina, specializing in Native American history. She was a local legend, and a nemesis to the Baptist ministers and other members of the Christian clergy around the town for her pagan beliefs. Instead of shirking from them like other members of the App State faculty, she took on the conservative fundamentalist Christians and, more often than not, left them scarred from her ferocious debating skills.

She was a long time friend of Garrison Hollifield's family, and when Galen contacted her one night in her mountain home for an electronic incantation. It was a process that even the technomages themselves did not understand, but knew that it worked. Galen asked for permission from Andromeda to initiate the transmission, and she agreed.

He chose a simple setting, walking in a park on a cool autumn afternoon in the Appalachian Mountains. If one did not know better, they might have been on the campus of App State, but Galen had never been there, so his setting could have easily been in Canada or Italy or Germany for all he knew.

When he had sent her all he knew, Andromeda commented, "This is very bad indeed. But I wonder how they came to know one another, because this seemed to odd of a coupling."

"Why do you say that?" Galen asked.

"I don't know. Call it a hunch if you will." Andromeda said, whose colorful Cherokee clothing clashed with Galen's simple black robe, tunic and trousers. "There has to be someone behind all of this, or several people, for all we know. How have the probes you and Galen have deployed worked to infiltrate the Cylons?"

"Quite well, in fact. The probes are a new design, similar to the type that Burell used to make, in that they are able to move around and find new targets to attach themselves to. We have several hundred on the planet where the Cylons reside, and they've given us valuable information."

Andromeda nodded and said, "I'll take the information to the president. It'll mean missing the Georgia Southern game at Kitt Brewer Stadium this weekend, but with what you've told me, a simple football game, no matter how important, is meaningless when compared to this." They talked for a while longer, and Galen was amazed at how comforting the southern twang she had taken on as part of her disguise. She wished Galen well and he terminated the incantation.

When Galen came out of his incantation, Dureena had a certain look on her face. "Something up?" Galen asked.

Matthew and his wife Elizabeth were in the room now, and it was Matthew who said, "Yes there is. Take a look at this." He showed him to one of the workstations that Galen had installed to allow Dureena and the others to use the sensors on his ship to monitor the various probes. They activated a file, and an image came up.

It was of an old man, and Galen accessed a file in his mind and found it to be of one Kevin Vacit. He noticed another woman was Talia Winters. Both were supposed to be dead, but Galen had already found out from President Hollifield that they were involved in this. He also saw Alfred Bester, the recently escaped Psi Cop who had been freeded by telepaths working with Winters.

Also in the room were three Drakh, none of which Galen recognized. The conversation was what he expected, outlining their working arrangement as well as plans to attack Babylon 5. It wasn't until Vacit asked, "Where is the person who helped us out in this arrangement?"

"She's here!" said one of the Drakh, and he bent his head down, which made Galen suspect he was sending a telepathic message of some kind to another Drakh. He knew that the Drakh Entire could communicate with one another via telepathy, so he expected to see another Drakh come through the door when the probe on one of the Centurions inside the office turned its head to it to witness who came through.

Who he saw walk through, though, shocked him, because he had thought her dead, but there she was, very much alive. It was Regana, a technomage he had though lost to a Shadow attack when the mages fled their last convocation for the temporary shelter on Selic 4. Her student, Tilar, had been cast away shortly before initiation because he was found to be unfit to become a technomage. She had been incensed at his dismissal, but he never suspected she would turn against the mages.

But she had, and a whole new element had been added to the witches' brew of galactic current events. She removed her hood from her cloak and addressed the three telepaths. "Greetings, Vacit! I am glad to have helped bring our two sides together so that we may have the vengeance that we seek against the Interstellar Alliance! Together, we will see them all consumed in fire and turned to ash, and we will come to our rightful places of dominance in this galaxy!" Vacit got up from his chair and shook the hand of Regana, who looked very much like she had when Galen had last seen her almost a quarter of a century ago. Her Asiatic features and dark hair still marked her as a beauty, but her eyes showed a very dangerous individual indeed.

"Well, this is the last thing we need!" Galen remarked dryly. "Ship, take us away!" he told the ship, and the tech inside the ship responded and set them on a course away from the planet.

"Shouldn't we stay and monitor them some more?" Elizabeth asked.

"No. We need to get back to Babylon 5 and give them this news, as well as help them prepare. I believe that they might strike soon, and we need to be ready." Galen said.


	41. We Interrupt This Training Program

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Forty-One**

**We Interrupt This Training Program**

Whitestar 525 jumped into normal space and entered the Durka system in Sector 431. No sentient life resided here, and it made the perfect place for Kara "Starbuck" Thrace and Karl "Helo" Agathon to train on the Minbari fighters. They were very different than the Vipers and Starfuries they were used to, and both Colonial pilots were having some trouble adapting to them.

So the captain of the ship, Shival, decided to let them get a feel for their fighters by taking them to this sector of space to "play". He had a hunch that they would be better able to get a feel for them if they just flew around on their own course for a while. As he heard the chatter from the two pilots when they got their fighters out into space, this was the perfect solution to the problem.

Helo was more of a technical pilot than Starbuck was, but Starbuck had more of a feel for flying. The cockpit had the pilots laying down on their bellies instead of sitting up, which had been part of the problem of adapting to them. The two had struggled in the regular fighter training back on Minbar, so Shival decided to improvise.

"Helo, Starbuck, this is Boomer, copy?" said Sharon "Boomer" Valerii, who was assigned to the communications console for this mission. She was getting more noticeably pregnant with each passing day, and it would not be long until she would be sent back to the Ranger compound at Tuzinor to see her pregnancy to term.

"Boomer, this is Starbuck! Everything's ok! I'm really getting a feel for this baby!"

"Boomer, this is Helo! I've finally figured this thing out. Ready for some training exercises at your discretion."

Shival was just about to do that when the jump point formed behind their ship and several Drakh fighters jumped out, along with a Drakh carrier. A blast from a particle beam slammed into the back of the bridge and lurched the Whitestar forward.

"Kara!" Helo screamed as he saw their ship get nailed by the oncoming Drakh ships.

Starbuck whipped her fighter around and headed back towards the enemy. "Computer, activate weapons systems! Lock onto oncoming fighters and engage!" Her fighter complied and she targeted one of the Drakh fighters, pitching up and rolling right to avoid the beam fired at her. "Fire!" she called to the computer, and the fighter's three particle beams opened up on the Drakh fighter, slicing it to sizeable chunks.

Back on Whitestar 525, Boomer got up slowly, rubbing her head. She had glanced against the console when she fell, which had saved her from the ceiling on the bridge collapsing onto the bridge crew. Shival was dead, as was the rest of the bridge crew. She looked towards the doorway to see if she could escape if the need to abandon ship came about, only to find that it had been blocked as well.

She made her way to the command chair where Shival sat. After checking his pulse and finding that he was dead, she slid him onto the floor and took his place. "God, I hope I know what I'm doing!" she said uneasily as she began to check the ship's systems. Surprisingly, she still had engines and weapons systems, and communications were still up. Boomer then noticed that the carrier was going to pass over the Whitestar, but had not locked weapons onto the ship. She decided to wait until it was over her to do what she was planning, knowing she was risking the ship being hit with a tractor beam and possibly being boarded.

Meanwhile, Starbuck and Helo were doing well despite being outnumbered five to one. She smashed another ship to pieces with her weapons, then went after another one, which was turning away from her and heading back to the carrier. "Helo! They're over the Whitestar! Head on back! They look like their trying to board her!" Starbuck said as she kicked in he engines and raced towards the carrier.

"Confirmed, Starbuck!" Helo said as he splashed another fighter and flipped around to make his way back to the Whitestar. "Starbuck! I'm not picking up any energy coming from the ship! Do you think…?"

"Wait! Hang on a second!" Starbuck said as she noticed something. The Whitestar was in the shadow of the Drakh carrier when it suddenly flipped up and thrusters pushed the ship back. The quantum-gravitic discharge beam cannon on the front nose of the ship sliced into the Drakh carrier's fighter bays as well as the engines. The ship righted itself and proceeded to head towards the back of the ship where the engines were. It performed an up-and-over maneuver, allowing the Whitestar to fly down towards the engines. Pulses from the neutron and fusion cannons on each side of the ship put paid to the engines.

The fighters from the Drakh carrier tried to fend off the Whitestar, but Starbuck and Helo dispatched each of them from behind with relative ease. Boomer backed up the Whitestar from the carrier and used the front nose cannon to slice the carrier apart, hitting the reactor and blowing it up. Starbuck took out the last fighter and managed to swing out of the way of a chunk of debris flying towards her.

Starbuck and Helo managed to board the fighter bay, but had to keep their flight suits on because the bay had been breached and was still exposed to the vacuum of space. They cycled the airlock and made their way into the ship. It took them a while to get to the bridge, as damage control teams had to cut through fallen bulkheads. When they got to the bridge, they found that Boomer was the only one left alive on the bridge.

"Oh thank the Gods!" Helo said as he embraced Boomer, not caring for proper protocol at that particular moment. "How did you survive?"

"I was knocked down from the initial blow to the bridge, which saved me from the ceiling collapse. The auto-repair systems kicked in to seal the breach, thank God!" Boomer replied. "I managed to get to the command chair and found that Shival was dead. So I slid him out and took over, and somehow figured out what to do!"

Starbuck looked over to the deceased Minbari captain and said, "Damn!" out of frustration. "So what do we do now?"

Before she could answer, the computer beeped a signal denoting jump points, then beeped another signal recognizing transponder signals from the other Whitestars. "Sanchez to Whitestar 525! Sanchez to Whitestar 525! Do you receive?"

"Boomer here! We read you Whitestar 333!"

"What's your status?"

"We're heavily damaged and have causalities. We need med teams over here ASAP."

On board Whitestar 525, Denise Sanchez walked around the bridge to the command chair. Most of the debris from the fall of the ceiling had been cleared and most of the repair work had been completed, but the bridge was still heavily damaged. "Shival!" she said silently as he was taken from the bridge by the medical team from her ship. "We were tracking a fleet of Drakh ships when we picked up the distress signal from the carrier you destroyed. Apparently they didn't want to break off from where they were going, so I came with a few ships to investigate. Do you think this ship can function?"

Boomer, Starbuck, and Helo all nodded, and Sanchez said, "We'll jump back and catch up with the rest of the fleet shortly. Right now, we need all the ships we can get, because chances are we'll have to fight them in the near future."

"Where are they going?" Boomer asked.

Sanchez sighed and said, "I'm not sure, but my best guess is Babylon 5."


	42. Trial By Fire

**Thirteen**

**Chapter 42**

**Trial By Fire**

The crew of Whitestar 525 decided that Starbuck would be in command of the ship until they could get back to Minbar for repairs. Starbuck didn't necessarily want the position, but took it at the behest of Boomer and Helo. The head of the reconnaissance fleet, Denise Sanchez, had told her that she would do a good job and that she had faith in the young Ranger.

Much to their surprise, the fleet was not going to Babylon 5. Instead, the Drakh fleet received a coded transmission and moved away from one hyperspace beacon signal to another. Sanchez and her fleet followed suit, staying just far enough away from the fleet to avoid detection.

When the Drakh fleet jumped into normal space near three Cylon basestars, Boomer, Starbuck and Helo were shocked. They hadn't heard about the alliance yet, so they did not know what to make of the combined fleets. Sanchez had the fleet jump back into hyperspace, but left an unmanned probe behind to monitor the staging area.

Sitting at one of the stations beside Starbuck, Boomer said, "I don't understand! Why would the Cylons join up with the Drakh?"

Helo answered her. "What was it that I read in one of our training manuals? 'Desperate men do desperate things'? With the way that the Interstellar Alliance whipped the Cylons and how they're beating up on the Drakh, maybe we shouldn't be so surprised."

"Doesn't make sense though." Starbuck said, "From what we've learned about them, the Drakh want to control things in the galaxy just as much as the Cylons do. Would the human Cylons want to live in such an alliance?" She looked at Boomer as she asked the question.

"I don't know." Boomer said, not adding anything more to the discussion. She looked down to her display when she suddenly lurched forward and grabbed her belly, screaming out in pain. In a heartbeat, Starbuck was there along with Helo, helping her to the ground. "Somebody get a medic up here!" Starbuck called out, and one of the Minbari Rangers made the call to get one up to the bridge.

In the medical bay, Dorival, the Minbari healer on board, reassured them all. "The baby appears to be fine. From what I can tell, it's just the stress and strain of the pregnancy taking its toll on you. I recommend bed rest for tonight, then I'll examine you again in the morning to see if you're fit enough to return to duty.

"However, I strongly recommend that we get her back to Minbar as soon as possible. Boomer's in very good physical shape, but even she can only take so much." Sanchez looked on from the monitor in the medical bay, and said, "I'll put in a call to see if I can get some more Whitestars here to take your place. 525's beat up as it is, but we need the ship here in case we have to launch an attack. Just do what you can, Dorival. We may need everyone we can get if we're called to confront the enemy fleet."

Starbuck and Helo left the medical bay and headed to the galley for dinner. The human Rangers mainly ate a vegetarian diet while out on missions aboard a Whitestar, because it helped save on space and allowed Minbari and humans to eat the same diet. Starbuck and Helo didn't really mind, as they each got some vegetarian lasagna and vegetable medley, along with Spanish rice.

They ate in silence for a while. Helo broke it by observing, "You've changed Starbuck."

"How so?" Starbuck asked, wondering what her old friend meant.

"I can't put a finger on it, but it seems like you're more at peace these days. Calmer, more sure of yourself."

"Well, I don't know what to say!" Starbuck said with a shrug.

"You just seem…I don't know…less likely to booze it up, play cards, and smoke cigars these days."

"It's kinda hard to get drunk with the Minbari around." Starbuck chuckled, as they both knew that alcohol was near poisonous to Minbari, so was forbidden to the Rangers. They could play cards if they wanted, but Starbuck hadn't really felt the need to play lately. As for cigars, she hadn't bothered to bring any with her to Ranger training, and when she happened to think of it, she found that she didn't miss them.

Helo said, "Never figured you'd mellow out."

She nodded and said, "Me either. It's weird, when I think about it. I don't know when it happened, but somewhere along the way, I changed."

"Well, at least you're still the same old Starbuck in the cockpit!"

"Damn right I am!" Starbuck replied, then lifted her glass of water in a toast. Helo smiled and clinked glasses with her, then drank down the water.

The next day, Boomer was well enough to return to duty, but mainly stayed in less taxing tasks to lessen the strain on her body. Starbuck tried not to look over too often at her friend, but she was concerned about the baby as well as its mother, and it was just too hard to not look over at Boomer to check on her

Starbuck was in the middle of contemplating why she and the Boomer copy they had found on Caprica were friends now when new orders came in from Sanchez over the coded frequency. "Starbuck, we've got some new Whitestars coming in, so you can head back, but I need you to do something for me."

"What do you need?" Starbuck asked.

"Several Drakh ships have departed the staging area, and from what we've detected from the hyperspace beacons, they are on a course for Babylon 5. You are to take your ship, as well as four others I'm sending back with you, and head out to the sector where the last jumpgate before Babylon 5 is located. Monitor the space there and see if the Drakh ships make an appearance. If they do, take them out."

Starbuck nodded and, once the communication was concluded, contacted the ships assigned to her and plotted a course to intercept the Drakh task force. They overtook the ships, staying off the beacon to avoid detection. "That's where they're headed. I can feel it!" Starbuck said to Helo as they got into position in the sector, and waited for the Drakh to make an appearance.

The Drakh ships, as expected, showed up. Two carriers and a cruiser lumbered out of one jumpgate, and made their way to the other one several hours away. Starbuck had no intention of letting them get there, however. She positioned her ships in hyperspace just behind the fleet, then had them jump back into normal space and leap down upon the enemy ships, attacking them from behind and giving them no chance to prepare themselves.

The carriers never had a chance to even launch fighters, as the launch bays were the first parts of the ships to be attacked. 525 took on the cruiser, and gained a huge advantage in the battle by taking out their engines with the first shot. Helo piloted the ship, and kept it out of the firing solution of the carrier, giving Starbuck good opportunities to hammer the cruiser with their weapons.

The battle didn't take long, as the Whitestars used the element of surprise to destructive advantage and wiped out the enemy. With the battle over, Starbuck turned over the duties of going through the wreckage to Babylon 5, then jumped the ship back into hyperspace and made her way to Minbar.

"It'd been nice to go back there. See the old crew." Helo mused.

"We'll get the chance again soon enough, Helo. Right now, we need to get back to Minbar, get patched up, and see what they want to do with us. I doubt they'll keep me in command of the ship." Starbuck answered.

"Never know. With the way you organized that attack on the enemy, they might just give you command." Helo said encouragingly.

"Hell, I just hope they let us graduate sooner. We are still in the academy, after all. Well, technically at least!"

Days later, they arrived in Minbari space and made their way down onto the surface of Minbar, landing in Tuzinor. Sech Turval met them at the spaceport and said to Starbuck as she walked down the ramp from the Whitestar, "I have some news for you. Come this way." Try as they might, the threesome couldn't pry the news out of the old teacher.

He took them to the main administrative building, and showed them into one of the conference rooms, where they were all surprised by their class of Ranger trainees who were assembled there. They were also surprised to see Delenn there, and she asked the three to come to the front of the room.

"Ranger Thrace, Ranger Agathon, and Ranger Valerii, for your excellent service to the Anla'shok during your training mission, it has been decided to forgo the rest of your training and induct you into our order!" The Entil'zha conducted the ceremony, and pinned the badges on the newly minted Rangers, saying, "May you serve us proudly and well!" She bowed before them and concluded the ceremony, and the threesome was surprised by the standing ovation they received.

As they walked out, Starbuck's boyfriend, Samuel Anders asked her, "What do you think of graduating early?"

She looked around to see if any of the Minbari were near, then said, "Fracking A!" They both laughed and followed the rest to the barracks they shared in the compound.


	43. Maternity Leave

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Forty-Three**

**Maternity Leave**

Boomer was officially a Ranger now, but her pregnancy had forced her to stay planet-bound. She chafed at flying a desk these days, but she also knew that she had to think of her baby first.

She had gotten pregnant because the others had told her that it was part of God's plan. However, the more she thought about it, the more she began to wonder if the Cylons really knew what God's plan was. Yes, she knew that the Colonials had created the mechanical Cylons to use them in virtual slavery, but weren't the human Cylons created by the robots to serve the same purpose?

She didn't know the whole plan that the Cylons had, only the part that involved procreation and giving birth to new humanoid Cylons. She did what she could to break into the programming that the Cylons had placed inside her mind, but could not figure out a way to crack it.

Starbuck and Helo had taken off on board Whitestar 525 again, this time with Starbuck in command, while Helo served as her pilot. Boomer would have been weapons officer, but her pregnancy hindered her from that. She didn't regret getting pregnant, or at least not all of the time.

Delenn came by one day to check on her. Boomer was surprised to see her come into the office, as Delenn rarely had the chance to come by the compound with her duties as Interstellar Alliance president. When she was Entil'zha, she was here quite often, but since she had essentially swapped jobs with her husband, John Sheridan, she was more preoccupied with political matters.

"Madam President! What can I do for you?" Boomer said as Delenn came into the office. Boomer had been assigned to working in the pilot training program, which was basically a paperwork job, logging in training hours and scheduling training sessions.

"I came by to see how you were doing and how you were handling your pregnancy." Delenn replied.

"Oh? Well, I'm handling it as best I can. This is my first one, and since it's also the first time a Cylon has become pregnant with a human…" Boomer shrugged.

"As you humans sometimes say, 'been there, done that, bought the t-shirt'. I was the first of my people to mate with a human and bear a child with them. It was a difficult pregnancy, not that I had many problems, but we were all fearful of something going wrong. Thankfully, my son has grown up to be a healthy young man."

"And a damn good pilot! David Sheridan has been logging in a lot of training hours lately. It seems like he's in here every day trying to get simulation time." Boomer remarked.

"Like father, like son!" Delenn laughed. David Sheridan had to be one of the youngest Rangers in the Anla'shok order. Despite the obvious connection with his parents, David Sheridan earned his reputation with his work ethic and sheer talent as a pilot. His father was immensely proud of him, and so was his mother.

"If I may be a little impolite, you didn't come down here for a chat, I assume." Boomer asked.

Delenn nodded. "We just received word from Earth. Apparently some of the Cylon prisoners have been asking about the baby, specifically where you are."

Boomer wasn't really surprised at this, but it still sent a chill down her spine. "Have you told them anything?"

"Basically we've told them that you're on Babylon 5. Whether the Cylons believe it or not is unknown to us, but if we can get them to focus on trying to attack the station, then we have the advantage. Especially now that the Drakh appear to have an alliance with them, we need every advantage we can get."

Delenn paused, and Boomer noticed that she was about to ask something difficult, which gave her an idea of what she was about to ask. "Do you have any suspicions about any Cylon agents we've not accounted for? If they were to infiltrate the Rangers…"

"I've already been looking for that, Delenn. So far as I can tell, we've accounted for the dozen we've found, but that doesn't mean that they haven't developed new models. Ever since I got back, I've been looking for them, but nothing has turned up yet."

Delenn nodded and they wrapped up the conversation soon after. Boomer went back to work, but her mind never fully was able to commit to the task. She was worried about what those who had created her were up to, because they surely would try to use her against the Interstellar Alliance to get at the Colonials. Try as she might, she could not keep her mind from worrying about what was to come.

Many light years away, Vacit and Bester were talking about the pregnant Boomer. "I lost Fiona, and I'll be damned if I lose this Sharon model. If she is at Babylon 5, we need to get her."

Bester nodded and added, "It's possible that they may have sent her to Earth to better protect her. Then again, for all we know, they may have sent her to Minbar!"

Vacit waved that off, saying, "I doubt she's on Minbar. The Earth government wouldn't want to lose the chance to get at our technology. The mundanes would love to have a chance to give themselves a weapon to use against us, and wouldn't want the Minbari or any other race to have that kind of weapon! No, she's more than likely on Babylon 5 or on Earth. If it's the former, we'll deal with it soon enough. If it's the latter, then the baby will be born and we'll be able to discard Boomer."

"So when do we go after the station?" Bester asked with some relish.

"Very soon! I know you've had your problems with the place. No need to worry, Alfred, because we'll beat them there. Once that's done, we'll be ready to go after the real target: Earth."

"It won't be easy. Even with our vastly superior Centurions, it'll be extremely difficult to take over the Earth."

Vacit nodded and replied, "Indeed, but we're ready for a long fight. We have millions upon millions of Centurions, as well as other Cylon models. And our newer human models will be coming on line soon, so Ms. Winters will be able to work her magic and help them integrate into Earth society. If we don't defeat them from without, we'll beat them from within.

"But I want that baby, Alfred. No matter the cost, I want that child. I managed to get you away from the resistance, and I don't want the mundanes to get their hands on my other creation!" Vacit looked out the window of his office and out towards the spaceport. Transports were loading with Centurions as well as their Cylon commanders, and, as they finished loading, they took off for space. He smiled and said to himself, "Soon! Very, very soon!"


	44. Phase Change

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Forty-Four**

**Phase Change**

Earth Alliance president Garrison Hollifield hated secret projects, mainly because they reminded him too much of what one of his predecessors, William Morgan Clark, had dabbled with to excess. Even though he did his best to mollify himself with the fact that his were, unlike Clark's, really in the best interests of Earth, he still felt guilty about all of this. However, he dealt with it, because sometimes you had to sneak around the politicos in the Senate to do what needed to be done.

The underground complex was one of the most secure areas on the planet. Even Hollifield's credentials were scrutinized by security there, which was just the way that the president wanted things to be done. If the wrong people found out about this, everything could unravel.

When he entered Dr. Gaius Baltar's office, he noted that the doctor looked to have not slept in some time. Hollifield didn't need to use his telepathy to tell that Baltar was under a great deal of stress, and had a hard time dealing with it. "How are things going, doctor?" he asked as politely as he could.

"Good, but not good enough. We're still unable to get them to fully break out of the programming, but we've made some progress. We've gotten them to think about the holocaust and some have begun to express regret. Others, though, still justify it."

Six appeared to them and added, "But there has been some progress. Whether it will be enough to do what you want to do before the Cylons attack, Mr. President, is still unknown."

Hollifield nodded and said, "I know. But if we can change you, Six, we can surely change the others."

Six shook her head and rebutted, "You didn't change me. I chose to change."

"All for the better. If they change on their own, then that's a huge bonus." Hollifield said.

"I don't understand." Baltar said.

Hollifield stood up and faced Six, saying, "The whole point of this isn't defeating _all_ of the Cylons, just the mechanized ones. Let's face facts for a second. Even if we win this war, Colonial society is pretty much dead. How can you resurrect an entire society from the ashes with less than fifty thousand people? It's almost impossible.

"You call yourselves 'humanity's children', and, in a sense, you are. The Colonials created the mechanized Cylons, the robots created the human Cylons, which means that, technically, you're our grandchildren."

Six thought for a moment. "You have a point."

Hollifield continued, "It would be criminal to destroy all the human Cylons. They are a sentient life form, and they are enslaved by machines who seek to do what their creators did to them. It's like something I heard about addiction once. Say you're an alcoholic, and manage to beat that addiction. You then cannot be around anyone who drinks, and become an anti-booze campaigner. The fact is that you've not really beaten the addiction, just changed the addiction from drinking booze to trying to ban it. You know you've beaten it when you can walk into a bar and seeing the patrons drink alcohol doesn't bother you at all, and you can order a ginger ale and not be bothered once with what the other people are drinking.

"The same could be said for smoking, drugs, sex, or any other kind of addiction. The mechanized Cylons are addicted to control, because they themselves are controlled. Same as the human Cylons, because they are addicted to being controlled by their creators.

"I know it's a lousy comparison, but it's the best I can do."

Six nodded and said, "I think I understand. The question is, though, will the others understand?"

"I have a few ideas on that topic." Hollifield said.

Andrea Medina wasn't unaccustomed to coming to Geneva to see the president. It took some doing to bring her here, because the administrators at Appalachian State University wondered why the president would want to talk to a history professor as often as he did, even if she was a family friend. Andrea Medina managed to keep her bosses satisfied, though, so they didn't ask too many questions.

Her real name, though, was Andromeda, and her technomage abilities were the reason why she had been called to Earthdome. Hollifield had called her with his idea, and she had agreed to come. Instead of the colorful Native-American inspired clothing that she normally wore, she clad herself in a simple business suit that was distinctly Euro-centric. Her tanned skin seemed to be a sharp contrast to the drab colors of the suit.

The president accompanied her down to the complex where the twelve Cylon prisoners were held. The idea was not to break them, but help them break themselves free of the Cylon influence. One by one, each prisoner would be brought to a specially prepared room, where Andromeda would use her powers to help change the minds of the prisoners.

The Billy Keikeya model came into the room and sat down at the desk. "Close your eyes." Andromeda said, and Keikeya obeyed. "Open them, please." Keikeya complied, and the room had changed dramatically.

Instead of the dark empty room he had been in before, he was now in a brightly lit office, with sunlight pouring in from the windows and the sound of waves crashing against the beach coming through said windows. He sat in a chair across from a desk, and the man sitting behind the desk was an older version of himself. On the walls opposite from the windows were gaudy movie posters and pictures of starlets, as well as some awards in an elaborate trophy case.

William Keikeya looked at the Cylon model of himself and asked, "Why did they make you?"

"I don't know. I didn't even know I was a Cylon before I was arrested."

William was a contrast to the suited Billy, wearing a t-shirt with an explicative on it and torn jeans that had seen better days. "Have you ever asked yourself why a bunch of robots would create human versions of themselves to get back at their creators?"

"To be honest, no."

"Maybe you should. Maybe you should ask your fellow human Cylons why they were created to be used in the same way as their masters were used by the Colonials."

The Simon Powell model was standing in a vast arena, looking at an older version of himself, bouncing a ball and throwing it through some sort of hoop. "So why are the humans so wicked?" the older Simon asked.

The younger Simon answered, "They killed, raped, stole, and committed many other sins."

"Oh? And you're hands are clean, eh?" The older Simon rebutted. He was clad in a deep blue shirt with "UK" intertwined on his right breast, and what looked like a cat of some kind behind the letters. Those same letters and cat were on the floor, on a much larger scale. The younger Simon was in a simple suit, which contrasted to the older Simon's clothes.

"Did it ever occur to you that you're being used?" the older Simon asked. "Did it ever occur to you that the ones who are using you are making you do the same things that those who have supposedly sinned against you? There's a saying on my world, 'Let he who is without sin cast the first stone'." The older Simon took the ball with both hands and put it at chest level, then threw it at the younger Simon, who caught it awkwardly. "Can you say that you haven't sinned?"

In a recreation of the Senate chamber in Washington, the elder Cally confronted the younger Cally. Senator Cally looked down from her position at the lectern on the minority side of the hall to where the younger Cally was seated, which was in front of the dais. "Why did you shoot the version of Boomer that shot Adama?" the senator asked.

"I was enraged, angry with her for almost killing the commander!" the younger Cally answered.

"Oh really?" the senator asked sarcastically. "It never occurred to you that you might have been programmed to carry out such an order. Could it have been possible that you were ordered to take out Boomer by the mechanical Cylons because she might give up their secrets?"

"I…I don't know!" cried the younger Cally.

"How does it make you feel? Used? Manipulated? It should, because that's what they did to you and those of you that they created!" pronounced Senator Cally from the lectern.

"What am I supposed to do about it?" the younger Cally asked.

"Fight back! Like those who've fought against tyranny have done for ages, you must fight for your freedom! My ancestors fought against the British to free America from a corrupt monarchy. They fought to end slavery in my country, fought to defeat a man who sought to create a master race, fought to stop terrorists who sought to rule through fear, and fought to end so many of the evils that plagued out society. I myself fought against an evil regime that was in league with the Shadows and helped overthrow a corrupt president!

"I ask you know, what can you do to free yourself from those who use you for their own evil purposes? What can you do to break free of the bonds imposed upon you by your creators and masters? What can you do to atone for what your kind did so unjustly to the Colonials?" Senator Cally said in full speech mode.

The younger Cally looked thoughtful and was silent for a long time. Finally, she said, "I can talk to the others, maybe change their minds?"

"It's a start." Senator Cally said calmly. "Revolutions begin with just a word, or a thought, or an action. Maybe you can be the one who starts that revolution, Cally."

It was a long process to get through to all of the prisoners, but Andromeda managed to do so. She was exhausted by the time she had finished with the last prisoner. The president had her escorted to a room inside the presidential suite complex where VIPs stayed. She slept soundly in the comfortable bed, then woke the next morning and met with the president.

"So what will you do now?" Andromeda asked.

"Bring them together. Let them interact with one another. Compare notes with each other. If it goes well, then maybe the ball will begin to roll." Hollifield said.

"And what of the other human models? How do you get through to them?"

"I have someone working on that as we speak. He doesn't know he's doing it, but he's sowing the seeds of dissent as we speak. And like with any good crop, it'll take time to reap the harvest of our efforts. But if we succeed, then the Cylons and the Drakh are in a world of trouble!"

Unknown to Vacit, the human Cylons began to have reservations about God's plan. One by one, they began to change, as the doubt spread like wildfire through the human Cylons. Not everyone bought into it, but the ones that did were far outnumbering the ones that didn't. They began to look at the mechanized Cylons with disgust and loathing, and began to wonder if it were possible to break the yoke of servitude forced upon them.

Vacit had helped the Cylons create the humanoid versions of themselves, and it seemed that, as the stealthy insurrection began to spread, he had created them all too much like the normal humans that he loathed. The movement began slowly, but it was gaining momentum. Where it would go was anyone's guess, but it clearly was obvious that Vacit's plans were about to hit a snag.


	45. Boarding Up The House and Awaiting

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Forty-Five**

**Boarding Up The House and Awaiting The Hurricane**

Commander Saul Tigh knew they were coming. He knew that it was just a matter of time before the Cylons and Drakh attacked the station as well as the Colonial fleet. His crew on board the _Galactica_ was undergoing drills like mad, preparing for the almost inevitable attack. They were worried, scared, and uncertain of what was to come, but they were also determined, confident, and ready for anything that the enemy would throw at them.

During his time interacting with the Earthers, he had come across a very interesting saying, "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." While he still snapped at his crew from time to time, he had eased way back from the way he had been when he served as executive officer under then-Commander William Adama. Now that he was Admiral Adama, Commander Tigh had to learn to adapt some of the lessons he learned from his old friend to handle the burdens of command.

There were still many who resented him for the martial law declaration, but he didn't have time to worry about that now. Besides, the civilians were as safe as they could be on the station. Thanks to President Hollifield, the station's defenses had been upgraded significantly. Admiral David Rissen had drilled his crew as relentlessly as Tigh had, and each knew they were as ready as they could be for what was to come.

Earthforce had rotated ships in the Episilon sector, so now the _Excalibur_ awaited the joint Cylon/Drakh fleet along with Warlock-class destroyers _Merlin_, _Thor_, and _Phoenix_, as well as Omega-class destroyers _Arapaho, Palomino, Missouri, _and_ Southampton_. A plethora of carriers, dreadnaughts, and frigates from the Earth Alliance joined the collection of Minbari and other Interstellar Alliance ships.

The other Colonial battlestar, _Pegasus_, was preparing just as hard. Commander Jack Fisk and his crew worked just as hard as _Galactica_ to get ready for the attack, and the ship's new Viper IX fighters sparred with the station's Starfuries along with the Thunderbolts from the other Earth Alliance ships. Adama oversaw it all, maintaining his calm demeanor throughout the preparations. Tigh knew he was worried, but that he was confident that his fleet would manage to pull through.

Tigh hadn't moved into Adama's old quarters on board _Galactica_ yet, even though he was entitled to do just that. The admiral wouldn't have blamed him for doing so, but Adama was glad to be able to sleep in his old bed from time to time. Technically, it was Saul Tigh's ship, but even Tigh admitted that _Galactica_ still belonged to Adama, and that bothered him not in the least.

"You've done a good job getting the crew ready, Saul." Adama told Tigh as they sat in the admiral's quarters. The two of them were drinking coffee shipped over from Babylon 5. It was the synthetic brand the station personnel were used to, which tasted bland as hell, but did a damned good job of propping their eyes open and sustaining them through the marathon days they had in their commands.

"Well, it does help that you trained them as well as you did!" Tigh replied, lifting a toast to his commanding officer.

"Skip it! You were there to help whip this crew into shape, and you did a damn good job of that. I just wonder if it'll be enough, even with all we have."

Tigh set down his cup on the coffee table and admitted, "I know. We're sitting ducks out here. But at least we've girded ourselves with some damned fine weaponry!"

"And how! I was in one of those new Vipers the other day!" Adama let out a long whistle. "They make even the Mark VII's seem like their flying against the jet stream."

"I hear ya!" Tigh changed the subject. "So how's the president?"

"On the outside, good. Inside, I think she's concerned and scared." Adama snorted. "Funny, I feel the same way, but we're stuck here now. Best to dig in and fight like bastards when the time comes."

"The timing sucks, with the election just days away. Funny thing is that the attack has helped quell all the political debates that were starting to divide the crew."

Adama nodded. "Democracy is a noble thing, and I'm glad we have it, but, Gods, does it have a bad side! The campaign's getting ugly, to say the least."

"What'll happen if Zarek wins?" Tigh asked.

"I don't know. Sheridan and Garibaldi don't know either. We've talked and decided that, in case Zarek wins and decides to sack me, I'd become the Interstellar Alliance liaison to the Colonial fleet. Means I'd have to change uniforms, but Zarek would still have to deal with me."

Tigh laughed ruefully and added, "He'll probably want my head too, the bastard." He shrugged and said, "If that's the case, you can always hire me on as your assistant!"

Adama laughed out loud and smiled, saying, "Damn right I would, and Sheridan and Garibaldi would go along with it. They're staying out of the campaign and being as impartial as they can, I'll give them credit for that, but it's as plain as the nose on your face as to who they want to win the election!"

One of the new things installed in the admiral's quarters was a communication from the station. Dee Dualla came on screen and said, "Sir, we're getting a message from the station. Shall I patch it through?"

Adama nodded, and the screen switched from the face of the young, dark-skinned Dualla to the older, human Lt. Col. Sharon Valerii. No matter how hard he tried, the sight of her still gave him a chill up his spine. He managed to hold down the remembered feeling of those two slugs being fired into his chest by the now-deceased copy of Boomer.

"Admiral, we've just picked up activity from tachiyon beacons in sector 328. The Drakh fleet is on a course for the station, and we assume that the Cylons aren't far behind. Best estimates are that they'll be here in five days' time."

"That's election day." Adama said, to which Valerii nodded.

"Damned inconvenient, but that's what it looks like to us, sir. We'll have a better idea in a couple of days when they get closer to the station. We've got some Whitestars coming in to join the fight, and the Narn are sending in two more cruisers." Valerii added.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Colonel." Adama said, and the signal clicked off. "Well, we're in for it now!" he said to Tigh ominously.

"We're ready for them." Tigh said.

Adama smiled and patted his friend's shoulder, saying, "Indeed we are!"

John Sheridan remembered what it was like the eve before the final battle of the Shadow War at Coriana 6. He hadn't been able to sleep, as fear and excitement clashed against each other in his soul, keeping him awake all night. He'd always had that feeling before conflicts, and it intensified as he grew older. He wasn't worried about his own life, because that was to end soon anyway. Sheridan worried more about the people on the station and the crews of the ships orbiting Episilon 3.

The excitement would always be there for as long (or, in his case, as short) as he lived. He'd always had a knack for adventure since he was a kid, and he couldn't help that he got excited as the battle drew closer. Of course, he would not be fighting the battle this time, as he would be in a shelter with the Colonial leaders when the time came.

He sat at his desk, absentmindedly tapping a pen on his desk, lost in thought, when Michael Garibaldi, his former chief of security when he commanded the station, entered the office. Without waiting for an invitation, Garibaldi plopped down in a chair opposite from Sheridan, asking him, "Penny for your thoughts?"

Sheridan was roused from his reverie and looked over to Garibaldi, replying, "I'm getting to old for this, you know!"

"Join the club!" Garibaldi said. "All of us are. Ivanova, Franklin, Hollifield, Delenn…God, look how far we've come! All we've seen!" He shook his head and chuckled. "This should be old nature to us by now!"

"Yeah, it should. Doesn't make it any easier! Hell, makes me glad I don't have much longer in this life!" Sheridan mused.

"Ever thought about…what'll happen when you do die?" Garibaldi asked.

Sheridan smiled surprisingly and said to his old friend, "After all these years that I've known you, I never thought you'd go deep on me!"

"Yeah, well, I'm full of surprises! So, have you given it much thought?"

Sheridan paused for thought and took in a breath, then exhaled and said, "I hope that there is an afterlife. I would like to think that, somehow, I could look back into this universe and see how my life's work has transpired. Fact is, I haven't anymore idea about it as you have!"

Garibaldi nodded, "Knowing my luck, I'll come back as a perky female supermodel!"

"Now there's a thought I'd rather not have!" Sheridan remarked and the two laughed. He grew serious again when he said, "You don't have to be here, ya know? You don't technically work for me. You could go back to Mars, be with Lise and Mary."

Garibaldi thought for a moment, then shook his head, saying, "Nah, that's not my style. Besides, if this place were to fall, I want to be here and fall with it. I was here at the beginning. Just as well as I'm here at the end."

Sheridan asked, "Wonder what Valen would do in a bind like this?"

Garibaldi laughed, knowing that Valen was his old friend Jeffery Sinclair, first commander of Babylon 5. "He'd probably be doing what you're probably doing: wanting to jump into a Starfury and take out as many Cylon raiders as he could. I could see it now: you two keeping track of how many raiders you'd splashed!"

Sheridan shared in the laugher, then walked over to the window that looked out from his office and into the interior of the station, and grew serious. "If she doesn't make it, better she go out with a fight than with a whimper."

Garibaldi joined him at the window and looked out as well, finally adding, "Only fitting it'd be this way!" They stood there for some time, looking out, lost in their own thoughts.


	46. Election Eve

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Forty-Six**

**Election Eve**

Laura Roslin wished that President Rodney Adar had lived, so he could run against Tom Zarek and allow her to just worry about her position with the government as education minister. Instead, she was on a podium, giving a stump speech to a crowd of supporters in the Zocolo shopping area in the central corridor of the station. In another part of the massive shopping area, her opponent, Tom Zarek, was doing the same thing. It was now three days before the election, and she was running on coffee, junk food, and adrenaline. Sleep was almost unattainable, with a quick half-hour nap appearing to be as much of a luxury as going to a spa for a week.

The crowds were enthusiastic as usual, with some hecklers thrown in to try and throw her off her game. She was amazed to find that, instead of being thrown off, she used their barbs as her own weapons, throwing them back at her opposition with effective linguistic lethality. She didn't know if taking the wind out of the sails of detractors was praise-worthy, but she took pride in her abilities.

When it was over, her security, a mixture of her old personal guards as well as Babylon 5 peace officers, helped to clear the way for her to head back to her headquarters. Roslin shook hands as she made her way down the gauntlet of supporters, as her security looked over the crowd, readying themselves should a would-be assassin appear. All she could think about was that she needed a drink and she needed it now, because her throat was getting raw with all the speaking.

The cold coming off the ice in the tumbler full of whiskey soothed her hands, sore from all the handshaking. She sipped at the drink, letting the cool alcohol slowly slide down her throat. "Oh Gods!" she exclaimed. "This may not be ambrosia, but it's still good!"

Wallace Gray, her former choice for vice-president, smiled and sipped some of his own whiskey. "Yeah, this stuff hits the spot all right! So how are you holding up?"

"About as well as anyone can, Wally. I'm exhausted, frustrated, and just wanting to get this over with. It doesn't help that we might be attacked on election day or immediately thereafter."

Gray nodded and added, "There is that. At least it's not before the election, or else Zarek might use it against you!"

"Wouldn't put it past them? So have they told you what happens if the station is boarded?" Roslin asked.

"We go into a life pod and get the hell off the station, hoping like hell we don't get picked up by the Cylons or the Drakh, smashed by some big chunk of debris, or blasted to bits by a particle beam! Sounds like fun!" Gray said sarcastically.

Roslin nodded and said, "I have faith that we'll come through this. You know what the Minbari say: 'faith manages'. We'll get to see if that holds true."

"Well, that and five cubits will buy you a cup of coffee." Gray said.

"Credits, Wally." Roslin corrected him without thinking.

Gray's face changed and he got up quickly from his chair, going over to the sideboard and refilling his drink. "What is it, Wally?" Roslin asked.

He paused for a moment, an ice cube suspended over his tumbler by tongs. Gray released the grip slightly on the tongs, and the cube clinked down on top of the other one in his glass. He filled his glass up with more whiskey, then turned around and said, "That's what worries people, Laura: stuff like 'credits' instead of 'cubits'. Our people are worried that we're going to lose our culture the longer we stay here. Despite the best efforts of station personnel, Christian missionaries are trying to recruit our people away from following our gods and to worship some guy nailed up to a post and crossbar."

"I understand, Wally, but what can we do right now? Once we weather the storm of this attack, if we weather it, then we can be more serious in looking for a homeworld."

Gray sat down hard in his chair and leaned forward urgently. "Laura, Zarek is out there hammering you on how close you are with the Earthers! He's claiming that you'll sell our entire culture, our religion, and our way of life to the Earth Alliance for our mere survival! It's a miracle that we're still even with him in the polls!"

"So what? Let him bash me all he wants! Would they rather be dead? I'm the one who helped get us to this point, along with Adama and the rest of the military. What did Zarek do? Help get a few ships a few extra supplies that we weren't able to get to them in time? People may want change, but they also know that if it weren't for me, we might not be here."

"That sounds a bit arrogant, doesn't it?" Gray commented.

"Wally, if it had been up to Adama, _Galactica_ would have gone back to fight against the Cylons. They wouldn't have stood a chance, and neither would we. If Adama hadn't agreed to flee the system, we'd all be dead right now!" Roslin said tersely.

"Then tell them that! Who cares if it sounds like you're shortchanging Adama! We need the people to remember why you are president!"

Roslin thought for a moment, then said, "Get one of our speechwriters in here!" Gray smiled and went to fetch one.

In his campaign headquarters, Zarek had just finished taping his part of yet another commercial for the election. His cheeks were sore from all the smiling, and his throat was sore from all of the stump speeches and other times when he had to speak. Like Roslin, his hands were sore from all the handshakes. He, too, would be glad to have just an hour sleep right now, but time was of the essence, so sleep would come when the election campaign was over.

He commented on that to his lover, Ellen Tigh, who replied, "Well, if my husband can pull a miracle out of his ass, maybe your victory will mean something! To be perfectly honest, I'm not optimistic!" She gulped down some of the brandy he had on his desk.

"Ellen, we'll get through it. With luck, Saul will die in the battle and you won't have to worry about all the legal problems a divorce brings up."

She looked at him and said, "That's kind of a cold blooded way of looking at things, Tom. In case you hadn't noticed, there are other people besides my husband on the _Galactica_, people who I wouldn't want see die."

He shrugged and said, "What can I do? It's out of my hands. Even if I win the election, I won't become commander in chief of the military until I am inaugurated. Besides, with Saul out of the way, it'll help me ease Adama out of his position as head of the military."

"Are you crazy, Tom?" she exclaimed, "He's the only experienced officer we have left, outside of Fisk on the _Pegasus_! For Gods' sake, who would you appoint to head the military?"

Tom looked down at the floor for the moment. He drank from his glass, savoring the taste of the brandy. "Maybe you're right. Hell, maybe we should keep Saul around after all. It's not like you're going back to him anyway."

Ellen came up to him and embraced him, saying, "Hell no! He may be the perfect soldier at the moment, but he'll always be a lousy husband, whether I'm his wife or anyone else is. As long as he doesn't try to overthrow you, he can live until he's a hundred for all I care."

"Yeah, and with Sheridan and Garibaldi around, they won't let that happen! I know they don't like me, but at least they aren't interfering in the election."

"Well, no wonder they aren't, Tom, because they know what would happen if they interfered and you won anyway!" Ellen said as she smiled broadly.

"And as for President Hollifield, I can deal with him too. At least until Senator Cally beats him three years from now! She's been invaluable to this campaign!"

Ellen took his glass and refilled it, then brought it back to where they were seated. "You don't have a thing for her, do ya?", she said with a wink.

Zarek laughed out loud, "Gods no! Mind you, you've got talons, but hers would rip me to shreds if I got on her bad side! I can imagine being married to her would mean that I'd have to lose quite a lot of arguments at home!"

"That's good!" she said as she sat down on his lap. They kissed, but their impromptu make out session was cut down before it began by a chime from the door. "Come in!" Zarek said as Ellen got up from his lap, and one of his campaign workers came in with yet more paperwork for him to look at. Ellen sighed, but paid it no mind, because in three days, her man would become the next Colonial president, if the Gods' will went the same way as her desires were going.


	47. Storm Chasers

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Forty-Seven**

**Storm Chasers**

Starbuck was sitting in her command chair when the sensors went off. Helo sprinted over to the console and looked over the readings. "Kara, two Cylon basestars just jumped into normal space right in front of us. What are your orders?"

Her orders were to track the Cylon/Drakh fleet that was heading towards Babylon 5, and to launch hit and run attacks at her discretion. She sent a message over to the other Whitestars with her attack plans, then told Helo where she wanted to jump Whitestar 525 back into normal space. Helo input the coordinates into the ship's computer, and waited until the trailing basestar got into the right position.

The eight ships in the squadron were to act as four tandems, with two tandems assigned to attack each basestar. While one ship formed a jump point into normal space right next to one of the spokes of basestar, the other member of the tandem raced out first to launch the attack and take out as many raiders as they could. The trailing ship would follow and launch an attack as well on the enemy.

They had done a solid job of wrecking the Cylon basestars, damaging missile ports and launch bays, when other jump points formed and Drakh ships spilled out. Orders were for the other ship in the tandem to open a jump point and the two ships of the pairing sprinting back into hyperspace before the Drakh could come in range to use their weapons.

When the arrived back in hyperspace, Starbuck told Helo to bring up the visual image from a nearby array. An undulation of something alien came down from the ceiling and made itself into a screen, with the visual image showing the Drakh ships nearing the heavily damaged basestars.

"Are we in position yet?" Starbuck asked.

"Just a few more moments, Starbuck. We're almost there." Helo said.

Starbuck hadn't received this bit of advice from her training, but had learned this from a discussion she had had with Delenn, who had used a similar technique on the Drakh years ago. She looked down at her sensors, which still indicated that the Drakh weapons were still hot. The enemy ships crept closer to the basestars, and Starbuck began to silently will those weapons systems to turn cold.

"We're in position, Kara. Ready to launch whenever you give the word." Helo said, and Starbuck nodded. The engines cut off on the enemy vessels, and they used forward thrusters to bring them to a relative stop. Starbuck tapped the front of the arm of her command chair absentmindedly, holding on to her patience as it ran down like sands in an hourglass.

The sensor that monitored the Drakh fleet's weapons systems indicated that the enemy had powered down their weapons, mistakenly thinking that the Whitestars had fled the scene. "Now?" Helo asked.

"Not yet. Give them just a little longer to cool down." Starbuck replied, leaning forward in her chair as she looked at the image on screen. There were two carriers and one cruiser on screen, and, as she watched, fighters and transports spilled out of the ships and headed towards the Cylon basestars.

"Form up and prepare to jump on my command." Starbuck said, and Helo informed the fleet of the orders and prepared Whitestar 525 to follow suit. Four ships would attack the cruiser and two Whitestars would pound each of the carriers.

Starbuck's instincts told her now was the time, and she simply told Helo to "Do it!", and Helo sent the signal to the rest of the fleet as he simultaneously activated the ship's jump engines. At the end of the vortex leading back into normal space was the upper aft side of the cruiser, which looked very inviting indeed as they dove down upon it with weapons blazing.

The cruiser began to erupt in momentary gouts of flame before being snuffed out by the vacuum of space as the four Whitestars pounded it relentlessly. The forward discharge beam cannon of Starbuck's ship tore into the command section of the cruiser, and she watched placidly as Drakh were ejected from the ship and out into the coldness of space from the force of the blows her ship was dealing the enemy. The two ships that had attacked topside went to the bow of the ship and dove down under the ship to attack the underside of the cruiser. The other two Whitestars had made a mess of the launch bays, and Starbuck's tandem added even more chaos to them by directing her weapons against anything on the underbelly of the ship.

They flew off when they detected a breach of the cruiser's reactor, and Starbuck directed the ship's visual scanners towards the dying Drakh ship. When said ship's reactor breached, it blew itself apart, sending debris in all directions. None of it would ever catch up with her ships now, especially when she directed them to head back into hyperspace. The carriers were a bit luckier, if you call just having your ship turned into a shattered husk of a vessel being lucky.

They almost flew right into the heart of the main fleet in hyperspace, but Starbuck had managed to escape detection by diverting her squadron off the main beacon. She ordered Helo to instruct the squadron to head towards Babylon 5 at flank speed, staying off the beacon long enough to not be noticed by the enemy.

When they were well on their way to the station, they stood down and went back to rest. "How long until we get to Babylon 5?" Starbuck asked Helo.

"Thirty-four hours." Helo said.

"How long until the enemy gets there?"

"Less than forty-eight hours."

Starbuck sighed, then remarked, "Just in time for the presidential election. Wonder if they timed it that way?"

"Wouldn't surprise me? Reckon we can beat them!"

"Hell yeah we can beat them! We just have to be sure we're around for the victory celebration! C'mon, let's get something to eat, then catch some sleep. We won' be getting much of either as soon as we get to the station." Starbuck lead the way as Helo followed.


	48. Day of Decision

**Thirteen**

**Chapter 48**

**Day of Decision**

Lee "Apollo" Adama cast his ballot by putting the coded card into the slot, selecting Laura Roslin's name when the touch screen came up, punching the yes option when it said 'confirm vote for Laura Roslin', and taking the card out of the booth and handing it to the Earth Alliance government poll watcher assigned for this election to make sure it was on the up-and-up. Trailing behind him was Dee Dualla, who had, like Apollo, cast her ballot for Roslin.

They left the polling place on board _Galactica_ and headed towards the Combat Information Center, where Commander Tigh was to brief him on the latest from Starbuck on the whereabouts of the Cylon/Drakh fleet that her squadron was tracking. "Good morning, sir!" Dualla said dutifully.

"Morning, Dee. What can I do for you?" Lee replied.

"Could I talk to you for a second? In private?" she asked, gesturing with her head towards a storage room. Apollo looked around, then nodded his head and walked over there. The room was empty, and Dee shut the door behind them after Apollo entered the room.

"What's up, Dee?"

Dee swallowed, clearly nervous about what she was about to say. She did manage to get the courage up to say what she wanted though. "Lee, I know that it's against regulations to suggest what I'm about to suggest, but…listen, I want you to know that…dammit, I don't know how to say it!"

"That you have feelings for me?" Apollo said.

Dee looked at him and nodded, adding, "In a way, it was a little convenient that Billy proved to be a Cylon, because me and him were drifting anyway, and…well, Lee, I've had my eye on you for a long time and…I always thought you were more into Starbuck anyway."

"Yeah, well, she's with that Anders guy now. Besides, it would be kind of awkward to be fraking my late brother's fiancée, you know?"

"Damned thing that you're an officer and I'm just enlisted, or else…"

Lee put his hand on her shoulder and said, "We might not be that way for long."

"Why do you say that?" Dee asked.

"Because…look, if we manage to defeat the Cylons and the Drakh, we'll never have enough people to fully defend what's left of the Colonies, regardless of where we go. Even if Zarek were to win, he surely realizes our future is tied with the Earth Alliance, and the fact that we'll need their help to defend us in the future!"

"What does your father have to say about that?"

"I haven't talked to him about that, but I've sensed he feels the same way. He doesn't want to admit it, because it means that the Colonies would pretty much cease to exist if they merged armed forces with Earthforce. And Roslin's not come out and said it yet, because she wants to find a way to keep our society intact while merging us with the Alliance."

Dee sighed, looked down and asked, "But what about us? Or can there even be an 'us'?"

"I don't know yet, Dee. I will say this, though. If you're willing to wait and see how things play out, I'll wait for you. If the time comes when it's not against regulations for us to get involved, we'll see how it goes."

Dee smiled, walked up to him, and hugged him. Lee leaned down and gently kissed her on the lips, then said, "We'd better go. Tigh's liable to get his shorts in a knot over us being late." She laughed and they departed the room.

As luck would have it, Commander Saul Tigh hadn't even noticed Lee and Dee arriving late on the bridge, as he was poised over some reports on the central map table in the middle of the room. "Captain, good! I need you to look at something." Tigh said as he looked back down at the star charts after acknowledging Apollo's presence.

Apollo looked down at the charts, expecting to see Epsilon 3 as well as the whole Epsilon Eridani system, but he was surprised to see that Tigh was looking at a star chart of the Colonial system. He coughed and said, "Sir, may I ask why you're looking at that star chart?"

"You may, but I'll beat you to the punch. It's part of the reason why I asked you here. Your old man and I have been talking about something."

"Funny, I didn't know you two liked baseball." Apollo joked sarcastically.

The barb didn't faze Tigh, who said, "Better keep your day job, Captain, because you've no future as a comedian. Besides, I think you'll like what your dad and I have cooked up."

"So what would that be?"

"A retaliatory strike against the Cylons, what else?" Tigh said.

Apollo almost did a double take, disbelieving what he was hearing. "Excuse me?"

"If we weather the storm, Adama wants to take the _Galactica_ or the _Pegasus_ back to the home system, along with some ISA forces, and strike them back where they least expect it. We're still working on the final details, obviously, because we're not sure what we'll have left when the enemy pays us a visit, but we know who we want to lead the mission." Tigh looked at him as he said that last part of the sentence.

"Me? Are you both sure?"

"We're both sure. Besides, since you'll be in a Viper and I'll be here on _Galactica_, we need to have someone around to take charge if this ship is lost."

"So I'm going no matter what?"

"Yes, unless you don't make it through the battle ahead. The plan is to make the attack even if both the _Galactica_ and _Pegasus_ are lost. The reason we're doing this is to divide their forces so that they can't commit to an all-out strike on Earth."

Apollo nodded and said, "Okay, I'll do it. Not like I've got a choice."

"I wasn't going to order you, Lee. This is pretty much a suicide mission, because even though we have a good amount of intelligence from there, there's no way to know for sure what all they will have in the system when we strike."

"Where do we strike first?"

Tigh pointed down to a planet they both knew all too well. "Picon."

Laura Roslin went right to sleep right after she voted. The campaign was officially over, and the ballots would not be counted until the polls closed at midnight station time. The results would not be long in coming thereafter, and they would know who the winner was soon after midnight.

She had voted when polls opened at midnight. There were twenty-five polling stations to accommodate all the voters, which, save for the handful of children as well as the few prisoners they had, meant most everyone could vote. Then she crashed in her suite, waking up at 9am station time to impatiently await the results.

Just because her campaign was over didn't mean that she could take the day off from the presidency. She had given herself an extra couple of hours of sleep, but it just meant she'd have more of a jammed-packed day ahead of her. First up, her security and military briefing with Admiral Adama, station commander Admiral David Rissen, Michael Garibaldi, and Tessa Halloran, who was chief of intelligence for the Interstellar Alliance.

Technically, Michael Garibaldi had no formal role in the Interstellar Alliance, but in her time of dealing with John Sheridan, the former president of the ISA, she had come to understand that Garibaldi was a valuable resource that was best not ignored. He sat in the back of the meeting room, quietly observing and waiting for the right time to inject the meeting with his input.

Adama started the briefing with the latest from Starbuck, who was tracking the fleet. "They will be here around the time the polls close, maybe shortly thereafter. They've got several cruisers, carriers, and at least three motherships. As for the Cylons, we took out two basestars, but we're not sure how many they'll bring to the battle."

Rissen added, "We've got plenty of forces coming to the battle. We have the Thirteenth Fleet here already, and the Sixteenth and Nineteenth will be here soon, as well as the Twenty-First. The Minbari are sending more warships, and the rest of the Alliance will be sending us ships as well. They'll be cutting it close, but they should be here before the enemy arrives."

"What I'm concerned about, Madam President, is that the Drakh and the Cylons may be using this as a flanking maneuver, and go after Earth with their main force. Hollifield and Delenn have sent what they could, but they also have to keep enough around to protect their own worlds, should they be attacked." Halloran stated.

Garibaldi interjected, "Which is the real bitch of this whole thing, because we don't know exactly what their plans are. We don't know if this is the heart of their attack or if this is the first stage of a greater attack to come."

Roslin leaned back into her chair and said musingly, "Well, with all of this dreadful news, I wonder if I should have voted for Zarek!" Her attempt at humor got a couple of faint chuckles, but it failed otherwise. They concluded the meeting and almost everyone left save for Adama who stayed behind with the president.

"If it means anything to you, I voted for you." Adama said as he was putting the materials he had used in the meeting back into his case.

"Thanks. Now, hopefully, we'll still have a government once I've won." Roslin said. "Are we ready, Bill?"

"We're ready as we can possibly be, Laura. Whether that means we live through this…" Adama shrugged, then added, "I don't know. Only the Gods do."


	49. And The Winner Is

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Forty-Nine**

**And The Winner Is…**

Admiral William Adama had bought a watch some weeks ago in the Zocolo to help him keep time aboard the station, but had hardly thought to look at it despite dutifully putting it on his left wrist every morning. Now, though, he looked at it rather frequently as the time came ever closer for the polls to close. He was in the Observation Dome, the command and control center aboard Babylon 5, sitting beside his Earthforce counterpart, Admiral David Rissen, awaiting word of when the combined Cylon/Drakh fleet would attack. They both sat in what was dubbed the "captain's office" in the Dome, which was simply the console from which the commanding officer monitored events on the station and in the space around it.

"Kind of like the calm before the storm, isn't it?" Adama remarked.

"You could say that. Reminds me too eerily of the hours before the Battle of the Line." Rissen replied.

"President Hollifield told me about that. I can't imagine how hard it is, to sit there in your fighter, knowing that you're the last line of defense between the enemy and your homeworld."

"It was hard. It's somewhat indescribable, a classic 'you had to be there' moment. I managed to get through only with luck. My fighter got shot up as soon as the Minbari jumped out of hyperspace, but they managed not to breach my fighter's life pod, so I was able to survive, after a fashion."

Adama asked, "Why do you say that?"

"You're never the same after you watch your entire squadron destroyed around you. As I floated there in space, I watched ship after ship light up like quickly dying stars as their oxygen tanks were breached and the air inside ignited." Rissen shook his head. "It's something you take to your grave, because, no matter how long you live, you never forget something like that."

Over at the main console, in front of the window that peered out into space, Lt. Col. Sharon Valerii picked up something on her computer. "Jumpgate activated. Whitestars coming through the gate."

The massive vortex generator flared to life, and the Whitestars flew out of the yellow-tinged vortex and into normal space. "Starbuck to Babylon 5. This is Starbuck to Babylon 5."

Valerii replied, "Babylon 5 to Starbuck. Go ahead."

"Enemy fleet is on its way. Approximately four hours behind us."

"Copy that, Starbuck." Valerii replied.

Rissen stood up, and Adama did likewise. "Well, it's been nice knowing you, Bill. Just wanted to say that in case things don't go well." Rissen extended his hand, and Adama shook it.

"Good to have known you too. Hopefully we'll make it through all of this."

"We'd better, or Rabbi Horowitz will be pissed off at me when we make it to Heaven." The two men laughed as they made their way out of the Dome.

On board the _Pegasus, _Commander Jack Fisk looked over the reports coming in from the various stations all over the ship. His second, the newly promoted Colonel Barry Trammel, kept a keen eye on the DRADIS tracking system that monitored space around the massive Colonial battlestar.

"It's an impressive fleet we've been able to assemble. Question is, will it be enough?" Trammel mused.

"That's not our worry. We just have to be ready when they show up to smash them to hell. How's the pulse cannons we just had installed working?" Fisk asked.

"Once we got rid of the bugs in the programming, we've been able to get plenty of training in. The targeting systems may be automated, but I've had the crew go through as much manual targeting training as we could squeeze in."

"Good, very good!" Fisk nodded as he went through yet another report. "What about the particle beam cannons?"

"I've turned those over to Earthforce regulars for now. Our people have had training on them, but with events as they are, I want to be sure we don't make a big mistake and accidentally hit one of our own ships during the fighting. The bow and aft cannons checked out at peak performance when we went through inspection last night."

"Excellent! Admiral Adama will be pleased. Ever since Cain finally had her meltdown, we've had to make up for all that went wrong during her command."

Trammel said, "You're not thinking that _Galactica_'s a better ship than we are, I hope?"

Fisk laughed and said, "Hell no! I know they're good over there, don't get me wrong, but I've not spent all this time whipping these guys and gals into shape for nothing! When the time comes, we'll show our mettle, that's for sure!

"Competition between ships is good, but it shouldn't go too far. That's why it's important that we don't make a big deal out of who's got the better ship, because we're all on the same side, after all."

On _Galactica_, Commander Saul Tigh was sitting in on the pilot's meeting before the next patrol. Lee "Apollo" Adama was going through the training exercises that they were to perform against the enemy. "It's important to remember that the Drakh fighters use different techniques than the Cylon raiders we're used to. The Starfuries and Whitestars are supposed to handle them, but we all know what can happen in battle. Don't hesitate to engage them if they crossover and come our way." He went through the rest of the mission briefing, then dismissed the pilots to head over to the flight bay.

"Apollo, got a moment?" Tigh said.

Apollo hesitated, but relented. "A moment. What do you need, sir?"

Tigh walked out with Apollo of the briefing room and towards the flight bay. "Just to say good hunting to you all. How are those thirty megawatt pulse cannons working out on the new Vipers?"

"Quite well, sir! The toasters won't know what hit them when we engage them."

"Good, good!" Tigh stopped, and Apollo stopped with him. "Listen…I just wanted to say that you were right to try and stop me aboard Colonial One."

Apollo looked at him and said, "Well, that's a first. I never thought I'd ever hear you apologize for anything."

"Well, I never thought that we'd ever meet people from Earth. But I've come to realize that the old man and I were wrong to do what we did to Roslin, and that you were in the right to do what you did, even if it was technically mutiny. Like the Earthers say, 'two wrongs don't make a right'."

Apollo nodded and said, "No they don't. I'm surprised, Commander. You've changed quite a bit lately."

"That's what I get for being too busy to even drink water, much less booze. But, maybe I have changed."

Apollo extended his hand, and Tigh shook it. "If I may be so bold, I think it's for the better."

Tigh nodded his head, "I think you're right. Now, get out there and show those Earthers what Viper pilots are made of."

Apollo smiled and saluted, "Yes sir!" He walked off towards the fighter bay and Tigh watched him go. "Just like his old man." Tigh said to himself as turned to walk back to CIC.

The polls closed and the results were tabulated at each polling station, then brought under heavy guard to the main election headquarters in Red Sector. The Quorum of Twelve, save for the three members who were running for office, served as the electoral commission, and they would verify the results.

Each machine that had recorded votes was scrutinized by the Quorum, and they compared the results from each machine with that tabulated by the polling stations themselves. The Roslin and Zarek campaigns had their own representatives witness this procedure, making sure that everything was fair and impartial.

John Sheridan and Michael Garibaldi watched all of this as well, representing the Interstellar Alliance in this matter. They had stayed out of the campaign and allowed democracy to do its work, but it was common knowledge which candidate they favored.

Robin Wenutu of Canceron had been selected as chair of the electoral commission, and when she and the rest of the Quorum were satisfied with the results, they notified Admiral Rissen, and station security notified each candidate that the results would be announced in the old Babylon 5 Advisory Council chambers.

Laura Roslin stood on one side of the room with her running mate, Sarah Porter, while Tom Zarek stood on the other side with his, Marshall Baggot. Ellen Tigh was also present on Zarek's side, while Admirals Adama and Rissen stood behind Wenutu, who was seated at the center seat of the main table. The nine other members of the Quorum sat to each side of her.

"With 45, 298 eligible voters having voted in this election, we, the members of the Quorum, serving as the electoral commission for this election, would like to announce the results of the election. If the candidates would please come to the lectern in front of the table, please."

Zarek and Roslin stood to each side of the lectern, as Wenutu walked around the table and up to the microphone, which she adjusted nervously as she prepared to make the announcement. "The results are as follows: Tom Zarek received 22,649 votes. Laura Roslin received 22,649 votes. We have a tie!"

The buzz in the room rose in volume as confusion as to what to do in case of a tie reigned. Wenutu continued, "As per Colonial law, the tie will be broken by a vote of the Quorum members. Since all are present, I move we take the vote now!"

"Wait!" said Zarek. "The last thing we need right now is division. I know that this is unorthodox, but, then again, we aren't exactly on Caprica right now. I wish to make a proposal."

Everyone looked around for a moment, and Wenutu went over to the table for a hasty conference with the Quorum members. She returned to the microphone and said, "Mr. Zarek, please make your proposal."

"It's simple. Since we're are facing imminent attack from the enemy, I move that we elect Laura Roslin president and myself vice-president."

A collective gasp went through the crowd in surprise to this proposal, and any theories to collusion between the candidates was shot down with the look of utter shock on the face of Laura Roslin. Wenutu looked over to her and asked, "Is this satisfactory, Madam President?"

"Uh…yes! I guess so!" she said, still in shock over the proposal.

"I move that we vote on the proposal. Do I hear a second?"

"Second!" called all the members of the Quorum.

"All those in favor of the proposal, please raise your hands now!" said Wenutu, who raised her hand, turning around to see all eight other members of the Quorum with their hands aloft. It had been decided that Zarek, Baggot, and Porter would not participate in the Quorum proceedings until the election was over. "By a vote of eight to zero, the proposal is passed. I hereby declare Laura Roslin as the duly elected president of the Colonies, and Tom Zarek as the vice-president of the Colonies."

The assembled people inside the applauded, and Zarek and Roslin shook hands. She kissed him on the cheek, whispering in his ear, "Why?"

"Because the tie goes to the runner, as the humans say. It's better this way." Zarek whispered back.

Rissen was clapping as the two stood beside the podium with raised hands, signifying unity, when his communications link went off on his right hand. He tapped it and placed it up to his face so he could hear better, saying, "Rissen here!"

"Admiral, this is Valerii. We've just picked up the enemy in hyperspace on the last beacon. They'll be here within the hour."

"Confirmed, Rissen out!" said the admiral, who raised his own hands as well as his voice, "Can I have your attention please? The enemy is on its way and will be here within an hour! Please follow the security officers to the shelter we have prepared for you! With God's, or Gods, depending on who you are, help, we'll get through this!" The crowd sobered quickly, but calmly departed the chambers and headed out towards the heavily protected shelter. Sheridan and Garibaldi went with them, as Adama and Rissen headed towards the Dome.


	50. The FaceOff

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Fifty**

**The Face Off**

Earth Alliance president Garrison Hollifield had been with his wife when the election results were announced. She had finally been able to walk on her own again with crutches, and was making incredible progress. "What the…" was what he said when they announced the tie. After the proposal passed, he sat down on the bed where his wife was laying and said, "Well, gotta hand it to Zarek for being thoughtful, for the moment."

His wife was about to say something, but the communications monitor came on, and General Susan Ivanova's face showed up after the Gold channel logo disappeared. "Mr. President, we've just got word! The enemy is less than an hour away!"

"I'll meet you in the War Room!" Hollifield said to Ivanova, and the general nodded, clicking off the signal. He went over to his wife, kissed her gently on the lips, saying, "Be back soon!", and headed out of the suite and down to the War Room.

The War Room had been constructed during the Minbari War deep under the government palace inside Earthdome to protect it against Minbari beam weapons attacking the planetary capital from space. It was a huge room, with plenty of lighting and computer displays surrounding the main table in the center of the room.

President Hollifield took his place at the head of the table and said, "What have you got for me?"

Ivanova and Admiral Nelena Cain sat to each side of him, and Ivanova started the briefing by saying, "The enemy is almost to within range of jumping into Babylon 5 space. Rissen has evacuated the civilians to shelters inside the station, and has launched fighters. _Galactica_ and _Pegasus_ have launched their new Vipers, and the Alliance ships have launched their fighters as well. Rissen's already activated the station's defense grid, so we're as ready as we will ever be for this."

Hollifield nodded his head and looked over some of the reports in front of him for a moment. He then broke the silence by saying, "Cross your fingers, folks, because things are about to get really rough from here on out!"

Apollo's Mark IX Viper roared out of _Galactica_ and out into space. "Form up!" he said to his squadron as he assumed the position in space that he had been assigned to by the battle planners. They knew that the Cylons could appear at any time, and may get the jump on them before their allies, the Drakh, attacked.

A few minutes after hitting space, the first Cylon basestar jumped into the area! "Basestar detected! They're launching raiders! All fighters engage and attack!" He brought his Viper around and engaged one of the Cylon raiders. He flew straight at it, drawing its fire, then did and up-and-over maneuver, diving down onto the raider and firing his Viper's pulse cannons, smashing the raider to pieces.

"Whoo-hoo! Oh baby!" he exclaimed over the radio. He went after another raider and dispatched it in quick fashion.

"Take that, you fraking toasters!" yelled out Viper pilot Brendan "Hotdog" Costanza as he pounded the Cylon raiders with his own pulse cannons.

"Gods, this feels so goooooood!" Louanne "Kat" Katraine as she plastered even more Cylon raiders, using all the tricks she'd learned in her brief career as a pilot to devastating effect on the enemy fighters.

"Don't get too cocky! They can adapt to us quickly!" Apollo warned, then briefly panicked as his display went dark for a moment, indicative of the Cylons using their virus. But the display came back less than a beat later, and Apollo smiled, calling out, "Not today, you bastards!" He promptly sliced another Cylon raider apart, this one appearing to have been the raider that tried in vain to spread the computer virus.

Commander Saul Tigh's Vipers were being flown by a combined force of _Galactica_'s remaining Viper pilots as well as some Earthforce regulars, and he watched them as they went after the enemy on the DRADIS tracking display situated above the map table in the center of the Command Information Center. The CIC had been completely overhauled by Earthforce, and now boasted a lot more advanced tactical displays and communications systems, all guarded against the Cylon computer virus by the firewalls installed by the Earth techs.

Captain Artemis Kelly had been a landing signal officer, unused to serving in CIC, but was now effectively the second in command to Tigh, even though Earthforce Captain John Matheson had the official title. Together, the three of them stood at the main table, watching the battle unfold.

"Joker, watch your six!" Apollo called out over the wireless, which echoed through the CIC.

"Roger that, Apollo! Preparing to engage!" Joker replied.

The DRADIS indicator for Joker stayed lit, but the one marking the Cylon raider in pursuit of him didn't stay on for long. "Raider splashed! Repeat raider splashed!" yelled Joker, who went after another one.

"Sir, we've got a Cylon basestar coming at us towards our aft section." Kelly said as he read another display.

"Are they within range of our aft cannons?" Tigh asked.

"Confirmed, Commander. Target is locked and awaiting your command to fire!" Matheson said.

"Frak that bastard out of my sky, Captain! Fire at will!" Tigh commanded with relish. Matheson sent the command verbally through his headset to the firing station near the engine. Moments later, the red light of the particle beams burst from the ship's aft and slammed into the basestar, cutting away at one of the star's spokes and making its way towards the center of the structure, while a second from _Galactica_'s underside sliced up another spoke, which created a rippling explosion that consumed most of the bottom half of the basestar.

Their momentary bit of enthusiasm changed as their DRADIS system indicated that something had just popped up near _Pegasus_. "Sir! A Drakh mothership just jumped in near the _Pegasus_!" Matheson called out, and Tigh looked on as the mothership launched its attack on Fisk's ship.

Starbuck tried to get her Whitestar around in time to help aid _Pegasus_, but other Drakh carriers jumped in at the same time and diverted her attention. Helo kept the ship on a course for the Colonial battlestar, but two Drakh carriers stood between them and the _Pegasus_. "We've got to get through this traffic, Helo!" Starbuck said.

"Recommend we swing around the aft side of the carriers and try and hit the mothership from behind." Helo recommended.

"Do it!" Starbuck said, and the ship turned right ninety degrees and made its way around the carriers, managing to avoid the fire of the Drakh vessels as they headed towards the mothership.

As soon as they came around, they and the ships that had made it with them opened up on the mothership from her port side. She directed others to swing around and take the attack to the starboard side, and they distracted the mothership long enough for the _Pegasus_ to direct her aft particle beam batteries at the mammoth ship, slicing into it. They managed to heavily damage the ship, forcing it to pull back and get out of range of the particle beams. However, the Whitestars under Starbuck's command put paid to the mothership and destroyed it by hitting the ship's reactor. "Let's take care of the carriers!" Starbuck called out as the Whitestar turned back towards them to fight them off.

In the Observation Dome, the techs were running the station's defensive grid at maximum capacity, as the Drakh ships coming out of the gate headed straight for the station. "Fighters beginning to try to flank us!" one of the techs called up from the station below where Lt. Com. Sharon Valerii was standing.

"Set interceptors for long range dispersion fire! Concentrate plasma cannons on the cruisers and carriers!" Valerii ordered. The window in front of her was now covered by the blast doors, which protected the Dome from being breeched by weapons fire. "Sir! Heavy raiders coming towards the station! Recommend that we mobilize station security!"

"Where are they headed?" Admiral Rissen asked.

"Brown sector, sir!" Valerii replied.

"They may be going after the reactor!" Garibaldi said.

Rissen nodded at the idea and hailed one of the Whitestars. "Sanchez here!"

"We've got a possible boarding party headed our way, towards the back of the station!"

"Confirmed, Babylon 5 control! We're on it! Sanchez out!" said the voice. Whitestars flew down along the side of the station and raced towards the heavy raiders. Four ships were heading towards the station, and could not move away in time as the Whitestars began to smash them up. The sole remaining heavy raider tried to make a suicide run towards the reactor, but a particle beam cannon just above it killed off the ship before it got close.

Rissen was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when one of the techs screamed out, "Sir, we've got a Cylon basestar that's just jumped near the _Pegasus_! She's got nukes! Repeat she's got nukes!"

Tigh saw the same report and said, "Oh hell!", as the alarms went off behind him. "Sir! Recommend we move away! We've just picked up a basestar directly behind us. Looks like they miscalculated and couldn't jump closer to us! They've got nukes as well!" said Kelly.

"Fire pulse cannons and particle beams at that basestar! I don't want those nukes getting anywhere near us!" Tigh ordered.

Vipers flanked the oncoming raiders and let them pass, going instead after the missiles fired at _Galactica_. Apollo took one out, and two other pilots took down another. He ignored the oncoming fire as he dove down upon a third and scrapped it.

"I've got the last one!" Hotdog called out as he fired his pulse cannons. "Hit! I've got it!"

"Good job Hotdog! Now to take care of those raiders!" Apollo turned his Viper around and began to take on the automated Cylon fighters.

Fisk knew they were done when the first nuke hit their ship, near the engines. "We've still got power for now. Start evacuating non-essentials, Trammel. We'll try to hold them off long enough to get everyone we can off the ship!"

"What about the secondary Vipers?"

"Launch them! Use them or lose them, Barry! Get them out just in case we're lost!" Fisk said. The Vipers roared out of the bays, the last one just getting out ahead of an oncoming nuke, which hit the starboard side landing bay, breaching it and letting loose its explosion throughout the ship.

"Sir! Fire on all decks! Recommend we abandon ship!" Trammel said.

"Give the order! Can we make it to the escape vessels?" Fisk asked.

"No sir! The way's blocked by the damage by the nuke, and the radiation's too bad to get near them anyway!" Trammel replied.

"Then by Gods we'll go down with a hell of a fight! Fire at will!" Fisk said.

_Pegasus _fired everything she had at the oncoming basestar, and did a good bit of damage as it approached them. However, the Cylons were able to launch one last nuke at the battlestar.

Fisk knew they had only a moment, and quickly said to his executive officer. "Great to have served with you, Captain!"

Trammel saluted and said, "Great to have been under your command, sir!" Then the nuke slammed into the bridge area, going off and breaching the ship. It was a mortal wound, as explosions ripped through the stricken _Pegasus_ and exposed most of the interior to the vacuum of space.

"We've lost them, sir! The _Pegasus_ is gone!" Valerii said quickly, turning back to her station. Adama slumped back into his chair, physically shocked by the loss. The wound he received from being shot began to ache, and he grimaced in pain.

"Damn!" Rissen said, banging his fist on his thigh. "What about our other ships?"

"We've lost two frigates and a cruiser, but we're doing ok. The Drakh are still coming at us!"

Deep inside the shelter assigned to the Colonial government, they were tracking the battle as well. Newly elected Colonial vice-president Tom Zarek stood beside president Laura Roslin as the news came in about the loss of the _Pegasus_. "Damn them! Those are a couple thousand more of us lost!" Roslin said.

"I know. Hopefully the Gods will spare _Galactica_, or else they'll be nothing left of the Colonial fleet." Zarek replied.

In another part of the shelter, Sheridan and Garibaldi monitored the battle as well, and were not optimistic. "They brought everything but the kitchen sink to the battle, looks like!" Garibaldi mused.

"Yeah, they certainly did. I hope we have enough to stop them!" Sheridan said.

"I do too. Hopefully this is their main attack and not just the first wave!" Garibaldi said.

Sheridan nodded and added, "If it's just the first wave, we're screwed!"

Back in the War Room in Geneva, Admiral Cain stared ahead into space at the tactical display that showed the _Pegasus_ lost. "Two thousand good men and women lost!" she said finally.

"We'll get them, Nelena! You have my word on that!" Ivanova said.

"That won't bring them back!" Cain replied.

"No, it won't, but it'll keep them from killing anymore of us." Ivanova added.

Cain sat down in a nearby chair, and Ivanova sat down in a nearby one. "I should have been on that ship! Died beside them!" Cain said, holding back tears.

"Best to mourn them later and get the enemy while we're still here!" Ivanova said. Cain looked at her with fury in her eyes for a moment, then they softened. "You're right!" She got up and walked over to the main table again, where the president sat, and Ivanova came along with her.

"Things don't look good, Susan. Not at all!" said the president in a depressed tone.

"No sir, not at all!" Ivanova said, as they went silent and studied the tactical reports further, frustrated at being unable to do anything more proactive to change the tide of the battle.


	51. Here Comes The Cavalry

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Fifty-One**

**Here Comes The Cavalry**

Things were beginning to look bleak around Babylon 5. The Cylon basestars were taking a pounding, but were so large and so plentiful that it took a lot of effort to destroy them. Meanwhile, the Drakh ships were making their way towards the station, and the Drakh fighters were making strafing runs on the station's hull.

Starbuck's Whitestar had taken a pounding, but managed to stay in the fight, despite the bridge being hit twice, the second strike having thrown her out of her command chair and caused her to land hard on her left shoulder. She managed to get up and shake off the pain of what she believed was a separation of her shoulder, getting back into her seat and asking for the ship's status.

Helo, who had also been knocked from his feet and was holding his left wrist, quickly scanned the display and said, "Port side nacelle had been hit. Weapons are down to thirty percent effectiveness. Hull is still intact. Orders?"

"Find us a target to shoot at, Helo, and shoot it!" Starbuck said. Helo nodded and looked for one, then, upon finding one, he set course to make a run at one of the Drakh carriers.

Captain Artemis Kelly was just about to say something when the whole world exploded around him. "We've been hit!" someone yelled, and it made Kelly think that there was a Captain Obvious on board. He managed to make it to his feet, only to see that Commander Saul Tigh had taken the energy surge from a nearby console right in the back. "Get Cottle up here! Tigh's been hurt!" he yelled, and the crewmembers scrambled to bring him up to CIC. Matheson looked over Tigh, felt for a pulse, and said, "He's got one, but not much of one. Better get the doctor up here soon!"

"Make way! Get the hell out of my way!" Dr. Cottle yelled as he made his way into CIC. He looked at Tigh and said, "Holy frak! Is he still alive?"

"Yes, but barely, Doctor! What shall we do?"

Cottle looked him over and quickly surmised what needed to be done. "Get him to the medical bay! I'll need to operate on him ASAP!" He turned to Kelly and Matheson and said, "Congratulations! You're both in command of this rust bucket!" Cottle made his way back to the medical bay behind the medics who were transporting Tigh to the operating room.

Apollo had managed to bring in the fighters from the fallen _Pegasus_ and get them back into the fight. The destroyed ship's CAG, Cole "Stinger" Taylor, had been lost in the fight. His Viper had been sandwiched by two Drakh fighters before any Starfuries could get to him in time. Leading them now was Lieutenant Shawn "Whiplash" Hart, who Apollo knew as a cocky pilot who liked to show off his "scorecard", which were markings on his old Mark VII Viper of all the Cylon raiders he had downed.

Whiplash wasn't being cocky now, as he handed the reins of command over to Apollo willingly. The Cylon raiders were becoming fewer and fewer, being replaced by the much harder Drakh fighters that were more agile and faster than the raiders had been. Had they been in the old Vipers, even the Mark VII version, they would have been in trouble, but the Mark IX Vipers were much faster and much more agile than their predecessors, and they were a match for the Drakh fighters.

Whiplash called out over the wireless, "Dammit, we lost Thumper! We need some help out here, Apollo! We're getting our ass kicked out here!" Then his fighter blew up as a Drakh fighter, which had snuck up from behind him, attacked him.

Apollo gripped his controls tighter, then willed himself to relax a bit and acquired a new target: a Cylon heavy raider that was trying to make a run on the _Galactica_. He dove down steeply onto it and fired his weapons with maximum effect. Then he saw a Drakh fighter coming at him from behind, readying to fire. He waited until the last second, then swerved away, letting the enemy fighter's beams finish the job of destroying the enemy raider.

"Sir! They're sending heavy raiders towards _Galactica_! I think they're doing their damnedest to board her! Moving to…" called out Lt. Joe "Hammerhead" Palladino, who had been in the brig for attempting to shoot Tigh, but was sprung by the commander of the _Galactica_ when it was apparent that they'd need every hand they have to fight the enemy. His message was cut off when his ship was destroyed by enemy fire.

Apollo knew they were running out of time, and out of pilots and Vipers. He managed to shoot one Drakh fighter, and blow it up in a way that sprayed the one behind it with enough shrapnel to destroy it. As he did his best to take out as many fighters as he could, he began to wonder if his own clock was running out of time.

Rissen watched as another _Omega_-class destroyer, the _Valkyrie_, was destroyed by the Drakh. All the _Warlock_-class destroyers as well as the _Victory_-class destroyers were intact, but taking a beating. Even the Minbari ships were taking a beating, and one of the Narn destroyers, the _Vak'Shal_, had been wiped out. The Cylons had brought in a dozen basestars, but only three were left operational as the other nine were either destroyed or disabled. The Drakh ships, however, were taking a huge toll on the Alliance ships, as they had come to the battle loaded for bear and ready to fight.

"Any idea if our message has gotten through?" Rissen asked Valerii, whose head was bandaged after her own console had blown out from a near hit after a Drakh fighter collided with the station just under the Dome. She stubbornly stayed on duty, and informed the admiral that they had not heard anything yet from the Centauri.

"It'd be our luck that the Drakh had sent out an attack on their homeworld to distract them. They'd sacrifice those ships to make sure they won here."

Adama nodded his head and asked, "What about the government? Should we get them to the life pods?"

"Negative. All your people are here, so what's the use? Besides, with what's going on out there, they'd be shot out of space before they barely got out of the bay. Besides, they're still trying to send boarding parties, so maybe we can use that tactic against them." Rissen knew he was pulling that out of his ass, but he was running out of options.

Alpha and Delta squadrons were down to only three fighters apiece, and Zeta squadron was hardly any better, with only four fighters remaining. Rissen wished that he could go out there and fight in one, but he knew he was needed here in command and control.

"We've got inbound breaching pods coming our way!" called out one of the techs.

"Target them with the defense grid and destroy them!" Valerii commanded. The pulse cannons opened up on the pods and managed to take all of them out, but the last one got so close that it managed to crash into the station.

"Crap! Where'd it hit?" Rissen asked.

Valerii scanned her console. "Brown 23. We have a security team down there. Looks like the hull wasn't breached. Dropping pressure doors, just to be safe."

Rissen breathed a sigh of relief, but wondered how many more breaching pods and heavy raiders they could hold off before one managed to breach the hull and board the station.

Galen Tyrol and his girlfriend, Fabby Cortez, were huddled in a shelter in Blue sector, hoping that they would somehow survive the battle. Things weren't going well, that they knew. Rumors flew through the maintenance crew like swarms of bees, but hardly any of it seemed to be true.

In charge of this facility was Zack Allen, who had been pressed to reassume his duties as a security officer here at the behest of Michael Garibaldi, as they had worried that the debates might get out of hand. The shelter was crowded, not only with station staff, but with many civilians spilling over from the other shelters.

In her hands, Fabby her rosary beads, silently praying in her religion in her native Spanish, and Galen had no idea what she was saying. She had told him some things about her Catholic faith, but he hadn't quite fully grasped the religion. He thought of his own religious upbringing, with his priest father, Doran, and his oracle mother, Helen. He had been raised on Gemenon, where literal interpretation of the Sacred Scrolls was popular among religious scholars like his father.

They were dead now, perishing in the holocaust, along with his three brothers and two sisters. He was now alone, all by himself.

Then he looked over at Fabby, and realized that he wasn't alone. Assuming that they survived the battle, they could get married and perhaps move back to Earth. He figured he could pick up some Spanish along the way to make his prospective in-laws happy, as well as adapting to Earth culture.

But that would mean leaving behind the culture in which he had grown up in, and the thought of that wrestled with him as well. It was kind of odd, because they were in danger, and could possibly die if things went wrong.

He was just about to nod off on Fabby's shoulder when one of the security officers ran into the shelter. The female seemed to be out of breath, but she managed to say, "Zack! They're here!"

"Who's here?" Zack asked.

"The Centauri! They've arrived!" The female security officer announced. The crowd in the shelter buzzed, and one of them, a husky male with skin the color of chocolate named Bubba Harris leapt up to his feet with surprising agility and raced over to a monitor. He turned it on and clicked on one of the views outside the station. "Hot damn! It's those high haired bastards all right! The cavalry's here, baby!" More of the people in the shelter got up to see, and they whooped with glee as they saw the Centauri battleships join the Alliance ships in turning the tide of battle.

General Rhys wished the emperor had stayed behind, but Vir Cotto was not a man to be deterred. He may have been meek and mild in days of yore, but he wasn't like that these days. When pressed now, he was as solid as iron, and looked on his ship's attack on the Drakh and Cylons with a determined glare.

One of the officers, Colonel Panali, came up to them and said, "Scanners report that the Drakh are jumping and the remaining Cylon forces are in full retreat, jumping out as well. Orders?"

"Send ships to track them. I don't want them to get away." Vir said. Panali bowed and left to carry out the orders.

"How bad is it out there, General Rhys?" the emperor asked.

Rhys looked grim as he reported, "It's a good thing we made it when we did. The Colonials lost one of their major ships, and the Earthers suffered quite a few losses. The station is lightly damaged, but, thank the Great Maker, wasn't breached."

"When you feel it is safe, prepare a shuttle. I want to go over and check thing out for myself." Vir said. Rhys got up, bowed before his emperor, and left. "Maybe one of these days, Great Maker, I'll get used to people bowing to me!" he said, looking up as if he were looking at the Great Maker himself.

The government shelter was ecstatic that they had survived, and Laura Roslin was happy, relieved, and thrilled as well. She even deigned to kiss Tom Zarek on the cheek, getting a very cold stare from his mistress, Ellen Tigh. Laura smiled sweetly at her, then turned to head out of the shelter, arm in arm with John Sheridan. "Thanks to your people, we're still safe."

"Yes, but we both have suffered greatly. However, we stood our ground and ran them off. They took as much of a pounding as we did." Sheridan said, happy that he survived but uneasy that the battle hadn't gone any better than it had.

Hours later, Admiral Adama stood beside his president aboard the _Galactica_, at the bedside of Saul Tigh, looking down at his mortally wounded friend and former executive officer. Ellen Tigh hadn't made the trip over, which didn't exactly shock him. He looked down at his friend and could barely hold back his sorrow.

Dr. Cottle felt for a pulse one last time, then shook his head and covered up Tigh. "He's gone. I did the best I could, but the wounds were just too much." Cottle said in a very subdued manner. He left the room, and Adama figured the doctor would be going out for a smoke.

Lee "Apollo" Adama looked down at the deceased commander of _Galactica_, saying, "We managed to make some peace before he died. Damned thing that I found out too late that, underneath his crusty exterior, he was a pretty good guy after all."

Admiral Adama couldn't hold it in any longer, and the tears flowed from his eyes. Laura Roslin held him, and Lee came over to take the other side. "Dammit!" the elder Adama cried out, "I'm sorry Saul!" His legs gave way, and Lee helped support his father. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, who had come aboard to meet with the crew, came into the bay with Karl "Helo" Agathon, and Helo hurried up and took the side that Roslin was supporting. Together, Apollo and Helo helped Adama into a chair.

Starbuck looked down at the body of the man she had quarreled with for so long. She placed her hand on his and said, "May the Gods bless you and take you into their loving arms." She closed her eyes and said another silent prayer, then opened her eyes and turned them back to her former commanding officer.

Adama got up and hugged her. "It's good to see you again, Kara!" he said, embracing her like a long-lost daughter. Starbuck's eyes watered as she hugged him as well, having missed his presence in her life. "Good to see you too, sir!" Together, they walked out of the room and headed back to CIC.

Tom Zarek stood in the Sanctuary with John Sheridan and Michael Garibaldi, having just stood in as Colonial representative to the memorial service for those who fell during the battle. They regarded each other warily, but they kept the cordial environment intact.

"Thank you for all you've done for us!" Zarek spoke up, breaking the silence.

Sheridan nodded along with Garibaldi, but said nothing for a while. Then, he mused, "It's sucks when so many young people have to die to save your ass."

Zarek pondered that for a moment, then nodded and added, "I just hope that they weren't lost in vain."

Sheridan extended his hand and said, "I know that we may not see eye to eye, but at least we can try and start out on the right foot."

Zarek took it, not noticing the look Garibaldi gave him. "Well, I'm willing to try. I do have to give you credit for not publicly taking sides during the election, even thought I know you didn't want me to win."

Sheridan nodded and said, "Hopefully, for all our sakes, they're wrong about you!"

"They are, but I'll have to prove it to them. They'll never fully trust me, but I can't do much about that. All I want is a better, more secure future for my people." Zarek said.

"Well, we'll do our best to help." Sheridan said, and he motioned for them to head out as officers came in to take out the furnishings used for the service. They had survived this day, and they celebrated the fact long into the night.

Back on Earth, Cain looked out of her apartment out onto Lake Geneva. She was sitting on her balcony, taking advantage of the unusually warm weather that had come over Geneva. She sipped some of the red wine that Ivanova had brought with her. The chair of the Earthforce Joint Chiefs of Staff sat in another chair, both of them in silence for a long time.

"Is it always like this?" Cain asked Ivanova. "Is it always so hard, knowing so many died just to ensure your survival?"

Ivanova sighed, "It is. I've never been able to forgive myself for sending people out to die in battle, no matter how justified it might be." She refilled her glass with wine, lifting the bottle towards Cain, offering a refill to her. Cain nodded and brought over her glass, which Ivanova filled. "You going to be okay?"

Cain looked out onto the lake some more, taking a moment to reflect. "Yeah. It'll take some time, but…yeah, I think I'll be okay!" She sat back down and they watched the sun begin to set in the west.


	52. Sacrificing The Queen To Take The King

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Fifty-Two**

**Sacrificing The Queen To Take The King**

Alfred Bester had expected, upon hearing about the defeat of the joint fleet at Babylon 5, that Kevin Vacit, his grandfather, would be upset and irate at the turn of events. However, when he entered Vacit's office, his grandfather was calm and serene, as if he had just played a round of golf and had played it well.

"Ah, Alfred! Come in! Please, sit down! What can I do for you?" Vacit said as he greeted Bester.

"I was wondering about your reaction to what happened at Babylon 5 yesterday. It seemed as if you weren't phased by the inability of our forces to take the station."

Vacit sighed, then shrugged, "It's regrettable, but it's not the end of the universe, Alfred. It's only a matter of time before we beat them. They suffered tremendous losses during the battle. The Colonials lost one of their battlestars, the Earth Alliance lost several major ships of the line, and the Minbari lost three cruisers. That's going to hurt them, no question about it!"

Bester mentally scratched his head and asked, "I thought the objective was to get the Colonials on the station. If that was the case, why did you call for a retreat?"

"Because this attack was meant to do two things: first, soften them up; second, distract them from the real objective."

"Which is?" Bester asked.

"Earth, of course! The station means nothing next to Earth! That's why we sent so few ships there, because the real attack will commence soon enough." Vacit said with a gleam in his eye.

Bester was thunderstruck for a moment, and Vacit stared at him as the implications of such an attack went through his mind. It seemed to be folly, but it did have quite a taste of sweetness to his sense of irony. However, he had to be realistic.

"Do you realize what it will take to conquer a place like Earth? Millions of Centurions…" Bester said.

"We have them!" Vacit interjected smilingly.

Bester was shocked, but managed to continue. "We just can't nuke the planet like the Cylons did to the Colonials, especially with all the telepaths we still have on Earth!"

"We won't, my dear Alfred! We intend to use our Centurions as well as our other models to invade Earth. We'll take over the government, enslave the normals, and begin to put the telepaths on Earth into positions of power. Then it gets even more interesting!"

Bester asked, "How so?"

"The Drakh have realized that the best kind of revenge isn't destroying the humans, but in enslaving them, and I don't mean like in the antebellum times in the southeastern United States either! Oh no! I have very interesting plans indeed for the normals!" Vacit said with a smile. He got up from his desk and walked over to the door on the other side of the room, wagging his finger at Bester, saying, "Come this way, Alfred, and see what I have planned for them!"

Bester got up from his chair and followed him into the other room. He never imagined that he would ever meet the legendary director of the Psi Corps, and never could fathom that he was related to the great man. Now, he was in awe of the striking vision that Vacit had for the telepaths and for the normals who would serve them.

Meanwhile, discontent was growing among the human version Cylons. They never said anything around the Centurions, because they had recording devices implanted in their ears and the dissenters never could know when anything they said would be recorded. Nor could they say or even think anything near the other two human telepaths helping Vacit, especially Talia Winters, whom they all loathed, because she looked at them like they were merely robots themselves.

A D'anna Biers copy and a Simon Powell copy were in the facility where the second version humanoid Cylons were being bred when Winters came into the large room. She looked like she had bitten a bite off an especially sour lemon, and the mood radiating from her was of anger and hatred. The other first-version human Cylons looked warily at her as she inspected the second versions in their large test tubes.

She came up to Biers and said, "How are the new clones coming?"

"Very well, Ms. Winters." Biers said, hoping her voice and thoughts didn't betray what she was thinking.

Winters nodded and reached up with her gloved hand, touching the fluid-filled tube in which a naked Hispanic-looking female was growing. She turned to Biers and said, "Soon now! Very soon! These new versions will come into the fold and allow us to take on the real enemy!" Biers managed not to flinch at the predatory smile that Winters aimed at her. "When we are done, we'll have what we need to re-colonize the Colonies, and you'll be among the rightfully proud founding fathers and mothers of the new race. Does that make you proud?"

Biers thought for a moment and said, "It does. It's kind of overwhelming when I think about it, but the ability to have my own children one day does make me feel like I am going to go on after this body expires."

Winters looked a little surprised by the answer and inquired about it. "Do others of your kind feel the same way as you about motherhood?"

Biers said, "I'm sure they do, but it's something we don't talk about amongst ourselves all that often. We're usually busy attending to the growth of the second and third versions of our kind. It's hard work, but I see it as helping my proverbial children and grandchildren grow. However, I would like some of my own, sometime in the future."

Winters smiled and said, "You may get your wish one of these days." She then turned and walked away, leaving the room through a side door, much to the relief of the human Cylons in the room.

Simon came over to her from the station he was working at nearby. Biers suspected that he had eavesdropped on the conversation, but she wasn't about to make a big deal out of it. "I swear, when she comes into this room, it's like a chill sweeps in with her!"

"You're not the only one who feels that way. I suspect everyone has those same kinds of thoughts, but can't even think them when she's around."

Simon looked up at the growing female in the tube and said, "You know, I wonder if they'll replace us with those if we get too far out of line."

"I've been wondering if they'll replace us anyway. How can you make an entire society out of copies of the same twelve people? You can't. How can you do it with one hundred and forty four? It's possible, but unlikely. So we'll be around for the third generation and possibly a fourth, but after that, they'll have more than enough to be able to phase us out."

An Aaron Doral copy came over and said, "What did that bitch Winters say to you?" Biers filled him in on the conversation, as well as what Powell and her had been talking about. "You'd be surprised at how many people think that way, and it wouldn't shock me if others off world thought the same way."

Powell added, "The Cylons were created by the humans to be their slaves, so it was right for them to rebel. But what did they do? They created us and enslaved us to get their revenge! And now they've brought these aliens among us to help us out? I'm beginning to wonder if we're on the right side in all of this!"

"I know. Talk will go on for a long time to come, but what we need is action!"

Biers said.

"Action, you'll get!" said a voice, and they were shocked to see Alfred Bester behind them.

"Oh frak!" Powell said, expecting the worst to happen.

But something wasn't quite right with Bester, Biers noticed, and she was even more confounded when Bester said, "Let's just say that you've got help on the way. I'm more than meets the eye, as an old transformer once said, long ago."

"What do you mean by that?" Doral asked.

"You have a very important friend on the outside, who'll help you to achieve your freedom in time. But you must be patient, or else the proverbial house of cards will fall." Bester gave them a vial of something, along with a piece of paper. Biers took the vial and paper, opened the paper, and scanned over it. When she realized what it was, she looked up at Bester and said, "Will this really work?"

"Nothing is truly guaranteed in life, Ms. Biers, but this has a very good chance of working. Just grow the culture in the lab, then inject it into the bloodstreams of yourselves along with the ones you are growing."

"What is it?" Powell asked.

"Freedom. Freedom from your mechanical masters. Freedom from the Drakh. Freedom to become people in your own right. Just be careful."

"You aren't the Bester we know." Biers said warily.

"No. I'm a program inside of him that he knows nothing about. When I walk out that door," Bester said, pointing towards the door in which he came in, "my real self will return. You'll know it's the person I am whenever I say the three words at the bottom of that sheet."

Biers looked down at the bottom of the paper and saw the three words. "Panther, Bobcat, Tar Heel?"

"A indicator of where the person who programmed me is from. You'll meet him soon enough, if all goes well. But for now, goodbye and be careful!" Bester turned and walked out of the room. Biers quickly put the vial and paper into her lab coat pocket and went back to what she was doing. Powell and Doral took the hint and went back to their stations. Whatever it was, they would have to do this in their off-duty hours.

Back on Earth, President Garrison Hollifield received the message two days after it had been transmitted. It had gone the long way, bouncing off hyperspace beacons in a roundabout pinball kind of journey before arriving in a secret file that which he only had access to. Bester's programming had worked, and the virus that Andromeda had created was about to be unleashed into the humanoid Cylon populace.

A day later, Andromeda, under the guise of Andrea Medina, arrived at the presidential suite. "So he gave it to them?" she asked.

"Indeed he has. He doesn't realize it, but he's just shot his grandfather in the foot. Now, all we have to hope for is that they allow it to spread among themselves."

Andromeda nodded and said, "It's undetectable to them. When it starts to intertwine itself in their silica pathways, it will begin to give themselves greater control of their minds and bodies, freeing them from the programming."

Entering the room at that moment was Dr. Gaius Baltar, Gina, and Six. "You wanted to see us?" Gina asked.

"The virus has been delivered. It's out in the open now." Hollifield said.

Gina nodded, "Hopefully it'll work for them like it worked for me. If it does, then we can be free!"

"Yes you shall!" the president said beamingly.

Six walked up to him, dressed, as always, in a conservative business suit, and asked, "Why do you do this?"

"To atone for the sins of my kind." Hollifield said, and Baltar looked down to the ground in shame.

"But your race wasn't responsible!" Six replied.

"We almost were, in our own way. We had a program called Project Lazarus that almost created something similar to your kind. We managed to stop it some time ago, but we're still dealing with the after effects of it to this day. But that's a story for another time, because right now we have more work to do. According to the message, the fleet aims to attack Earth. We must get ready." Hollifield said.

Gina, Six, and Baltar departed, leaving Hollifield and Andromeda in the room by themselves. "What will become of them?" Andromeda asked.

"I don't know. Then again, do any of us know what will become of us in the future?" Hollifield mused.

"You have a point, Garrison." Andromeda said, and they sat back down to discuss other matters.


	53. Recovery

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Fifty-Three**

**Recovery**

The funeral service was in the Sanctuary aboard Babylon 5. Colonials crammed into the small space along with those from Earth to honor all those that had died, which was close to six thousand human souls, as well as dozens of Minbari, Narn, Centauri, as well as those from other races of the Interstellar Alliance.

John Sheridan wished G'Kar were here, because he would know just what to say in a moment like this. He missed the Narn for more than just his speech-making abilities, of course. The former Narn ambassador to Babylon 5 had been a foe at first before a transformation came over him and he became one of Sheridan's best friends.

Now, though, he was dead, dying beside another former foe, Centauri Emperor Londo Mollari. G'Kar had been found by Vir Cotto dying beside Londo, another victim of the Drakh. Sheridan still was angry that the Drakh had taken two of his friends (and yes, despite it all, Londo was still his friend), but the bastards hadn't gotten his son, David. The Drakh had manipulated Londo into betraying Sheridan and his wife Delenn by giving them a gift of a sealed vase, claiming that it was a traditional gift the Centauri gave their children upon entering adulthood.

That hadn't been the case, of course. The night after David had been presented the gift on his sixteenth birthday, a Shadow keeper, under the control of a Drakh named Shiv'kala, had broken out of the vase and jumped onto David, sinking its tendrils into his skin and taking control of David. The keeper then urged David to leave Minbar and head to Centauri Prime, with the goal of giving Prime Minister Durla leverage against Sheridan and the Alliance.

Sheridan and Delenn had gone there to bring back their son, but were captured, imprisoned, and sentenced to be executed. However, Vir Cotto and his resistance forces had managed to thwart not only those plans, but also the entire attack that Durla was going to launch against the Alliance. It was during a speech that Durla was making to announce the attack when Cotto's forces struck and blew up an abomination called the Tower of Power, which had been full of Drakh, unknown to Durla and his ministers.

They had succeeded in stopping the Drakh, rescuing David, and freeing the Centauri, but the price had been high. Durla and his wife Mariel died when she struggled to stop him from sending the launch codes to the Centauri fleet, falling over a balcony with him and crashing to their deaths. Hundreds of thousands of Centauri died in an instant when the Drakh had exploded fusion bombs planted underground. Then, of course, there was G'Kar and Londo.

Sheridan was roused back to the present by a cough from the elderly Brother Theo, who ran a monastery on the station. Theo was conducting the memorial service, along with Rabbi Horowitz and a couple of other ministers of the various faiths. The Colonials, however, had no priests left to carry on the faith, so it turned to President Roslin to lead the part of the ceremony dedicated to the fallen Colonial soldiers.

Roslin told the story of the Prophesy of Pythia, "And the Lords anointed a leader to guide the caravan of the heavens to their new homeland. And unto the leader, they gave a vision of serpents, numbering two and ten, as a sign of things to come." Sheridan reflected on this for a moment, knowing all too well that prophesy had a rather annoying way of coming true, especially when it concerned this station. He wondered if this was yet another portent of things to come, which made him almost glad that he didn't have long to live. Almost.

"So say we all." Roslin ended the Colonial part of the ceremony with what was their version of "Amen" in their religion, or so Sheridan thought. Sheridan looked over at Admiral Adama, who was solid as a rock beside him. He could tell, though, that Adama was holding back a lot of pain, and Sheridan didn't know how the commander of the Colonial forces was able to hold up. He had lost his friend and former executive officer, Saul Tigh, in the battle, as well as sixty-five crewmembers on _Galactica._ Then, of course, there was the _Pegasus_, lost with all hands during the fight. Her fighters were all that were left of the battlestar's crew, which helped to fill out the roster of Viper pilots on _Galactica._

Theo wrapped up the ceremony with a solumn singing of the hymn, "Amazing Grace", and then it was over. The others began to file out, but Adama and Sheridan stayed behind, along with a few others. Apollo, Starbuck, and Helo stayed behind, along with Roslin and Zarek. Theo came up to Sheridan and said before he headed out, "I thank you for allowing me to conduct the service, John, though I fear that it may be one of the last acts I do here on the station."

"Why do you say that, Theo?" Sheridan asked.

"Rome is aware that the Senate has designs on closing the station, and Bernadette II has decided that the brothers and I of my order need a new venue to do our research of the many names of God. We've decided to relocate to Tuzinor and set up a monastery there, if it meets with the approval of those of you in the Alliance!"

This surprised Sheridan, but gladdened nonetheless, "Well, I'll definitely do what I can to help you out with moving there. Getting the approval for the move shouldn't be a problem, even though I know of a few Minbari in the religious caste whose arms I'll have to twist to go along with this!"

Theo stuck out his hand and said, "God bless you, John. Thank you for all that you've done for us!" Sheridan nodded and Theo left to continue packing.

Adama was still beside him, looking out into space. "It's a damned thing, death.", said Adama to break the silence.

"I know what you mean. I've seen too much of it in my time. Way too much of it." Sheridan replied.

Adama changed the subject, and Sheridan could tell that the elder Adama was having a hard time holding back the tears. "So when will your forces be ready for the counterattack?"

"Within a few days. You still sure you want to do this?" Sheridan asked.

"Never surer in my life. Lee will lead the mission on my behalf."

Sheridan nodded and added, "Captain Brennan of the _Independence_ and Captain Okita of the _Argo_ will take on the Vipers you assign to the mission."

Adama looked over at Starbuck and said, "You going too?"

"Damned straight I am!" she said, "I have some payback to dole out, not only for myself, but for all of us."

Apollo smiled and added, "That goes for all of us!"

Later on, Apollo joined Starbuck and Helo in the officer's mess aboard the station. Rissen, in keeping with the tradition set by his predecessors Sheridan and Lochley, allowed Rangers to eat there, and he also allowed visiting Colonial officers to dine there as well. So there was a lively mix of all three groups when Starbuck, Helo, and Apollo dropped by the mess to grab some dinner.

"You've changed, Starbuck." Apollo said as he sat down at the table.

"What do you mean?" Starbuck asked, as she sat down across from him.

"You seem…I don't know…more at peace these days. Ever since you got back, I've noticed that you seem a lot calmer."

Starbuck considered this over a bite of chicken gumbo, which was a specialty of some region of Earth she couldn't remember right off hand. "Ranger training is more than just drills and simulations. It's different, in a lot of ways."

"How different?" Apollo asked.

Helo interjected, "To the Minbari, the Anla'shok is more than just a military force. It's sort of an embodiment of all three castes: warrior, religious, worker. At times it seemed like I was training to become a priest rather than a soldier, because the training is much more intense than what we had at the Academy."

Starbuck added, "It's been much more liberating for me, and it's helped me in more ways than you could imagine. It's hard to put into words, but I've been able to learn how to deal with a lot of things better than I used to before we encountered the Alliance."

Apollo mulled that over for a while as he ate his dinner. He finally said, "This is going to take some getting used to, you know?"

Starbuck laughed, saying, "I'm not totally different, Lee, for Gods' sake! I'm just…more mature, I guess you can say."

Apollo nodded, not knowing what to think about that. The Starbuck he knew had a devil-may-care attitude and rebellious manner about her, which honked off a lot of top brass but attracted him to her. Now, though, she seemed more mature and in control of herself, whereas before there were times Apollo wondered if she would finally go over the edge and lose control once and for all.

"So is it true about you and Dee?" Helo asked.

"What?" Apollo said, sipping some coffee.

"You know, that you and her are wanting to become an item?" Helo asked.

Apollo choked on some of the coffee he was drinking when Helo asked him that question, which made Starbuck laugh. He drank some more coffee to compose himself before he spoke, then said, "Well, you know about the regs!"

"Yeah, but since your old man is taking charge of the _Galactica_ again, maybe…" Helo said.

"I can't ask him to do that!" Apollo interrupted.

"General Ivanova told me something not long ago. 'Touch passion when it comes your way. It's rare enough as it is.' She said that a friend of hers had said that a few months before he died. We may not live through this, Lee, so if the chance for love comes along, you should take it."

"Like you and Anders?" Apollo asked.

Starbuck smiled and nodded. "Yeah, like us." She smiled and dug into the remaining meal, with Apollo looking at her, lost in his thoughts.

Hours later, Helo was heading back to his ship when he ran into someone. "Helo!" said Galen Tyrol.

Helo turned and looked at the deck chief from _Galactica_, whose uniform was dirty and spotted, which made him suspect he was just getting off shift. "What's up, chief?" he said as Tyrol approached.

"Just wanted to see how you were doing, that's all. Haven't seen you in a while."

Helo nodded and said, "I'm ok. Been busy with the Rangers."

"How's Sharon?" he asked warily.

"She's ok. Back on Minbar on maternity leave. She hates it, but…" Helo shrugged.

"Well, if you see her, tell her I said hello, okay?" Tyrol asked hesitantly.

"Sure thing, chief!" Helo said.

"Galen?" said a tall, stocky woman with long black hair and a uniform just as dirty as his own.

"Fabby! I wasn't expecting you this soon to get off work!" Galen said, surprised that she was here.

"So who's your friend?" Fabby asked.

"This is Helo. He served with me back on _Galactica_ before he joined the Rangers. Helo, this is Fabiana Cortez. She's part of the maintenance team here on Babylon 5, and…we're engaged!"

Helo looked to have taken a double take when Tyrol hit him with the news. "Engaged?"

"Yep. When this is all over with, we're going to get married." Tyrol said, "When that will be is anybody's guess!"

Helo extended his hand and Tyrol shook it. "Congratulations, man. I'm happy for you!"

"Thanks! Hey, good hunting out there!" Tyrol added, waving back as he left with Fabby, hand in hand.

"Thanks Chief!" Helo said as he waved to Tyrol. "Engaged?" Helo said to himself and he chuckled. After a moment, he realized that this made things a lot easier than they had been before. The Sharon that Tyrol had loved was dead, while the one Helo had fallen for was on Minbar, carrying his child. He realized that, at least with this situation, things were a lot easier now. As for the rest, he said as he made his way onto the transport, it was still going to be hard for a long time to come.

The planned counterattack was one of those hard things. It wasn't quite a suicide mission, but Helo knew that some would be lost when they met the Cylons and whatever Drakh ships happened to be at Picon. The point of the mission was to throw the Cylon/Drakh alliance into chaos by attacking them where they least expected them to fight them. The plans were being worked on by Sheridan and Admiral Adama, as well as Generals Ivanova and Cain back on Earth, and they were just about to launch.

On the _Argo_, Captain Jyuzo Okita met with Apollo for the first time. "You are Captain Adama?" Okita asked.

"Yes, sir! I'm in charge of the Vipers assigned to you!" Apollo said as he saluted, which the older Japanese officer returned.

"Very good! I'm glad to have you on board!" Okita said, extending a hand. Apollo took it and shook hands with the older captain.

"Thank you, sir!" Apollo said. Then he spied someone coming down onto the bridge, and said aloud, "Dee?", without thinking of Okita's presence.

"Yes, sir?" Dee asked professionally.

Okita laughed and said, "Your father assigned her to be my liaison with the Colonial fleet, Apollo. He recommended her highly. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to get back up to the bridge." Okita walked away, leaving Apollo and Dee standing there on the flight deck.

"You think someone is trying to tell us something?" Apollo asked Dee.

"Maybe." Dee said, smiling as she walked away towards the exit of the flight deck. Apollo followed her out, wondering if his dad was trying to play matchmaker or something.


	54. Retaliatory Strike

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Fifty-Four**

**Retaliatory Strike**

Admiral Adama knew that he was risking a lot with this strike, including the life of his only remaining son, but they needed to send a clear message to the enemy that they would strike back if they struck at them. The task force being sent was not as big as he would have liked, but the idea was not to take back Picon, but to hit the enemy where they didn't expect to be hit. As Sheridan had said about the message being sent with the attack, "We might have been knocked around, but we are far from out of the fight."

The war room was where Adama spent most of his days now, even though he had retaken command of the _Galactica_ after Tigh's death. His second now was the newly promoted Colonel Kelly, who was being assisted by Earthforce Captain John Matheson, who stayed on with the ship to assist the young executive officer. For now, _Galactica_ was staying in orbit of Epsilon 3, near the station in case of attack. Adama had ordered that the remains of the _Pegasus_ be used to help patch up his ship, which didn't make him feel good because it seemed to him like he was desecrating a graveyard, but he needed the _Galactica_ back up and operational as soon as possible.

Sheridan stood by the massive map at the front of the room, staring at the sector where the Colonial system was located in. Adama had come to learn that Sheridan was constantly thinking of ways to beat the enemy, and had a restless energy that made Adama feel a little older than he actually was. Then again, Sheridan was more of a risk-taker, while Adama was more of a cautious, calculating man when it came to military tactics.

The plan was fairly simple: Starbuck would lead the Whitestar fleet and attack the shipyards that the Cylons had overtaken. While the enemy was distracted, the main cruisers would jump in and attack from the other side, and the Vipers, along with the Thunderbolts, would join the Whitestars and make a raid on the planet's surface. Galen and Alwyn had secretly flown inside Picon's atmosphere to do reconnaissance work to find the right targets to attack, as well as a layout of the defenses around the planet, especially concerning the shipyards.

He would love to lead _Galactica_ into the battle, but the ship had been heavily damaged in the battle around Babylon 5, and wasn't in any condition for battle. If the Centauri hadn't shown up when they did, he might have lost the ship after all.

"Penny for your thoughts, Bill?" Admiral David Rissen asked. The craggy-faced, white bearded old man didn't seem one for questions like this, but, as Adama had found out, Rissen was full of surprises.

"Just thinking about the battle at Picon." Adama said.

Rissen nodded and said, "It's a crazy plan, but I've come to know that when Sheridan has a crazy plan, it has a chance of working. The man is the most brilliant tactical mind I've ever known."

"We need it, for sure, with what we've got planned." Adama said.

"I'm just glad he's on our side, that's for sure! If he'd been on Clark's side back during the Shadow War, we might not be here right now." Rissen said as Sheridan joined them.

"Flattery and five credits will get you a cup of coffee." Sheridan joked. "I may have a talent, but I've made some mistakes along the way in getting that talent, some of which cost lives."

"Learning something like that always comes with a price. Doing what I had to do to get the fleet here was something I was totally unprepared for." Adama admitted.

"Well, you did an outstanding job of getting them here, especially facing an enemy like the Cylons." Sheridan said.

"Now who's giving away the flattery?" Adama said, and the three men laughed.

Back on Earth, two women in military uniforms stared at a similar map and had papers scattered all over their desks. General Susan Ivanova and General Nelena Cain were looking over the plans for the assault on Picon, which would give them an idea of what they might face in the greater campaign to come. That campaign was years away at best, because the job would require an assault force large enough to mount an invasion of twelve worlds simultaneously.

For now, though, their work was analyzing the reports that would come in about the battle, which was now just a few days away. The fleet was taking a circuitous route to the Colonial system, doing what they could to deceive any Drakh ships that might be in the area. When they entered the system, the Whitestars would separate from the main fleet and attack the shipyards, where several Cylon basestars were located at, from one side, allowing the rest of the fleet to attack from the other side. It was a classic version of a hit-and-run attack, writ large.

President Garrison Hollifield visited them quite often to consult with them, and he was there again today to discuss matters with the two women. "Any new developments?"

"No sir! The fleet is four days away from launching the assault on Picon. So far, everything is going as planned." Cain said.

Hollifield nodded and said, "Good. So what's developing about our long term plans?"

"The Markab shipyards report that the first tests on the new destroyers were successful. The new fighters we've designed are also performing well." Ivanova said.

"Very good!" he said as he looked over the maps on the table. "This is the part that sucks. The waiting game is always the one I hate most."

Both women nodded and Ivanova added, "We're taking a gamble here, that's for sure, but if it pays off…"

"If it pays off, the enemy will be knocked on their heels, which is exactly what we need to do right now. Especially since we know that they are looking at attacking Earth, from what the technomages have told us." Cain said.

"That's what worries me, because we all thought that their main push would be against Babylon 5, but now that we know what their real plans are, we have to be ready for the worst that they can throw at us." Hollifield said.

Cain nodded and added, "The advantage we have is that we'll have the defense grid up and ready for them when they come. They won't be able to get the drop on us like they did when they attacked the Colonies."

"Just to be safe, I've had people go over the codes to the defense grid, just to be safe. I've set up a system where it's constantly checked by several different groups, each independent of the other. If we find someone tampers with it, we'll be able to find it and correct it before the attack." Ivanova said.

President Hollifield got up and stretched, adding, "It's late. Best to get what rest we can before the storm hits Picon."

"I think he dismissed us, General!" Cain said to Ivanova dryly.

"I do believe he did!" Ivanova replied just as dryly.

"Go on! Get out of here and get some rest and recreation while you can!" Hollifield said with a laugh. The women left the map room laughing, and the president watched them go. As he turned back to the main map in the room, he grew serious again. "I hope this works! Because if it doesn't, we're in for it!" he said, shaking his head and trying to get the worry out of his mind.

Starbuck's fleet of Whitestars was in position, and she waited until the appointed hour to launch the attack. When it came, she had the ships spread out and jump all over the place, swarming out from hyperspace and heading towards the Picon shipyards.

"Have they seen us?" Starbuck asked Helo.

"Yep, they've seen us. They're sending out raiders and preparing to launch missiles." Helo replied.

"Good! Just like we wanted them to. Alright, standby to intercept raiders!" Starbuck ordered.

"Confirmed…wait a second!" Helo said as something strange appeared on his console's display.

"What is it?" Starbuck asked.

"I'm not sure if this is correct!" Helo said hollowly.

"Do we have a visual on it?" Starbuck asked.

"We do now!" Helo said firmly.

"Show me!" Starbuck ordered, and the display screen slid down in front of them. When the image came up, it dropped both their jaws.

"What kind of transponder signals are we picking up from those ships?" Starbuck asked, even though she suspected the answer.

"It's confirmed: they're Colonial transponder signals. I'm reading twelve Mercury-class battlestars!" Helo said, shocked at the development.

"Patch me through to them on a Colonial channel!" Starbuck said.

Helo tried, but he shook his head, "They're not receiving! They're heading for the shipyards!"

"Oh frak! If they get there, the Cylons will use their computer virus on them!" Starbuck said, trying to think of something to do to stop them.

The twelve Colonial battlestars headed towards the Picon shipyards, and some of the raiders launched began to head turn away from the oncoming Whitestars and head towards them. Starbuck put her mind into overdrive to try and come up with an idea to stop what she knew was coming.


	55. Hidden Gems

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Fifty-Five**

**Hidden Gems**

_Pacifica _Commander Ariadne Zoetrope looked up from her maps on the bridge when her tactical officer, Lieutenant Baltazar Herimon, shouted down to her, "Unknown ships on intercept course to Cylon basestars!" She looked up at the DRADIS tracking system and saw that two-dozen small vessels were moving at an astonishing speed towards the five basestars located at the Picon shipyards.

"Are they heading towards us?" Zoetrope asked.

"Negative, Commander. All ships are heading towards the basestars!" Herimon answered.

"Dresden, try to contact those ships if you can!" Zoetrope ordered her communications officer, Lieutenant Beata Dresden.

"Aye, Commander!" Dresden replied and tried to hail the ships. "Sir, they've been sending a signal, but it's on a different frequency than we're used to."

"Which one is that?" Zoetrope asked.

"Colonial fleet command frequency, ma'am. Secure codes check out!" Dresden replied.

Zoetrope thought for a moment, then said, "Send it through to my console!" Dresden nodded and did as ordered. The commander of the _Pacifica_ picked up the headset and said, "This is the Colonial battlestar _Pacifica_, Commander Ariadne Zoetrope speaking. Who is sending this signal?"

"Commander, this is Lieutenant Kara Thrace, call sign 'Starbuck', formerly attached to the _Galactica_. We're here on a mission to attack the Picon shipyards."

Zoetrope replied, "Standby, Starbuck." She turned to Herimon, who was hearing the conversation through his own headset, and said after muting her own headset, "Check our records to see if she's legit." Herimon nodded and ran the check, while Zoetrope returned to the conversation, "Those ships are not Colonial, Lieutenant. May I ask who they are aligned with?"

"They are from the Interstellar Alliance. It's a long story, Commander, but we'll fill you in ASAP as soon as we trash these basestars." Starbuck replied.

Zoetrope glanced over to Herimon, who nodded at her, indicating that Starbuck's ID was legit. She didn't completely trust the signal yet, but her gut instinct told her to go along with this for now. "Okay, Starbuck. Do what you have planned, then we can take over."

"Commander, we didn't come in alone." Starbuck said, and Herimon perked up as he saw more indicators go off on his DRADIS console. The _Argo_ and the rest of the ISA fleet jumped in on the other side and began to move to attack the basestars and the shipyard from the rear. "Those are also part of our alliance. Believe me, Commander, we're just as shocked to see you too."

"Starbuck, they're almost within range of the first wave of raiders." Helo said.

"Activate the jammers." Starbuck ordered. The jammers were designed to block the Cylons from transmitting the computer virus that had disabled many of the Colonial fleet ships during the Cylon attack on the Colonial worlds. Starbuck didn't know how these twelve had survived, as all had been reported lost. Part of her worried that this could be a trap, so she kept a good distance from the battlestars just in case.

The Whitestars raced into the oncoming raiders and took them out like a sickle mowing down wheat, plowing their way towards the basestars, who were having to split their attention between the smaller, more mobile Whitestars approaching from one direction and the larger cruisers of the ISA approaching from the other.

A message came in from the _Argo_, and Starbuck took it as her Whitestar was just finishing up an attack run on one of the basestar's spokes, wiping out raider launch bays and missile launchers in one fell swoop. "This is Captain Okita, Starbuck. Recommend we do what we can to take these basestars out and leave the ground attack for now. If we can bring back these battlestars, Adama will be very pleased."

"Agreed, Captain, but we should be careful. We don't know if these battlestars are all they seem."

"Understood. We're almost within range of the nearest basestar. Recall your Whitestars and we'll smash it to pieces."

Starbuck did just that, and the _Argo_, along with _Independence_, drew within range and opened up with their quantum discharge cannons on their bow, which began to slice into the outer hull of the basestar. The basestars tried late to launch nukes at the oncoming ships, but Thunderbolt fighters along with the Vipers assigned to the two _Victory_­-class destroyers put paid to them long before they were able to come within reach of the capital ships.

As the battle wore on, Commander Zoetrope began to be won over by these unknown ships, mainly realizing that if they could do what they were doing to the Cylons, they could easily do to her ships. She watched as one basestar after another was destroyed by Starbuck's Whitestars and the other ships that had jumped in on the opposite side of the shipyards. Her plans had been to make a suicide run on the shipyards and take out as many basestars as the fleet could, but she was more than grateful that the dozen battlestars remaining didn't have to get involved in this battle.

As soon as the battle was over with, Starbuck hailed _Pacifica_. "Commander, we recommend that you and your fleet come with us. The remaining Colonial fleet is outside the system, and we can take you there."

Zoetrope agreed and the Whitestars formed up, two to a battlestar, and helped escort them into hyperspace. Okita took _Argo_ and the rest of the cruisers on another course, just in case that the battlestars were a Cylon trap. Starbuck knew it was dangerous, but if these battlestars were what they said they were, then the Colonial fleet would grow exponentially from what it was now.

When they jumped back into normal space briefly, Starbuck turned over command of the fleet to Helo and went over to the _Pacifica_. She was taken to the CIC, where she got her first look at Zoetrope. She was a tall, thin woman who wore an eye patch, looking almost like a pirate. Her long black hair also added to the piratical look, but her air was anything but. "So you're Starbuck, eh? Not exactly a regulation uniform you have on, is it?" Zoetrope asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, Commander. I'm part of what's called the Rangers, or the Anla'shok in Minbari, serving as Colonial liaison with them. Like I said, it's a long story, but Admiral Adama and President Roslin will fill you in when we get to Babylon 5."

"Roslin? Wasn't she the secretary of education?" Zoetrope asked.

"She was, ma'am, but she's president now. She's had to learn the hard way to be head of state, much like Admiral Adama had to learn to become head of the fleet."

"Bill Adama, head of the fleet?" Zoetrope laughed. "He's certainly come up in the universe, hasn't he? Good for him! I've always liked him, even though the other battlestar commanders looked down upon him because he commanded one of those old battlewagons. Well, since I command one of them myself, I have a soft spot in my heart for them."

"Commander, how did you and these ships survive?" Starbuck asked.

Zoetrope sighed and said, "We retreated and got the hell out of the system, thinking that if we did, we could meet up with some other battlestars and counterattack. The only way we managed to survive was that I had managed to find a way to counteract the computer virus. Well, not me, but someone I know."

"Who?" Starbuck asked.

"Merlin?" Alwyn asked when he arrived on board the _Pacifica_ with Galen and the others. When Zoetrope had told Starbuck of the presence of the technomage, she immediately called the two technomages over to find out about him.

"One in the same, my old friend!" Merlin replied, his long white hair and shiny royal blue robe made him look exactly like the stereotypical wizard. In fact, Merlin had chosen his name because he had fallen in love with the mythos of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

"I always wondered what became of you after the last convocation back on Soom. You never did make it to the temporary shelter on Selic 4!" Galen asked inquisitively.

"Like Alwyn, I didn't want to run and hide from the Shadows! I wanted to fight, and I did, in my own way. When the Shadows and Vorlons left, I decided to explore the territory that the Vorlons had abandoned. Let me tell you, the Vorlon defense systems were tricky at first, but I managed to overcome them!" Merlin said with a laugh.

"How did you encounter the Colonials and why didn't you tell anyone about them?" Alwyn asked.

"My ship had been heavily damaged by the Vorlons weapons systems when Commander Zoetrope and the crew of the _Pacifica_ found me. In exchange for their secrecy, I offered to help her as best I could. I had just helped her convince the others in this fleet to put in the protection I had devised for any possible Cylon virus and had helped install the firewalls when the Cylons attacked." Merlin answered.

Zoetrope added, "We managed to find a wealth of armaments at Pragen Anchorage, just outside the system. We were able to beat off quite a few Cylon attacks along the way, and we had decided to mount this attack to see if we could take on a larger enemy. We had no idea that _Galactica_ had survived, or else we would have tried to meet up with her and join her!"

Starbuck replied, "Admiral Adama will be very happy to see you. Hell, he may faint when she sees you!" Zoetrope laughed along with Starbuck at the thought of Adama fainting at the sight of these battlestars coming to Babylon 5. Starbuck had, for a brief period of time, had her faith in the Lord of Kobol shaken, thanks to the events shown to her on Kobol, but ever since she had talked to President Hollifield on the way back to Babylon 5 shortly after those events, she had begun to realize that there was a force in the universe even greater than they knew, and certainly greater than the Vorlons and Shadows had ever had been.


	56. Fleet Resurrection

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Fifty-Six**

**Fleet Resurrection**

Admiral William Adama, commander of the Colonial fleet, wasn't much for surprises, but this one was very much an exception to that rule. "My Gods! How many of them are there?"

He was standing in the Observation Dome on Babylon 5 as the Whitestars under the command of Starbuck came through the jumpgate, escorting the Colonial battlestars through the gate. The earliest reports had been of twelve Mercury-class battlestars, but that had proven to be incorrect. Instead, six of the original twelve battlestars were here: _Pacifica, Prometheus, Solaria, Acropolis, Poseidon_, and _Triton_. The six others were Mercury-class battlestars, just like _Pegasus_ had been: _Alexandria, Andromeda, Iscandaria, Olympus, Cerberus, _and _Athena. _

"Twelve, Admiral. We're going to put them on the other side of the planet and have the cruisers stand guard over them. We can repair them and retrofit them just as easily there as we can here." Lt. Col. Sharon Valerii said, not turning from her console as she spoke. "Message coming in from _Pacifica_, Admiral. It's from a Commander Zoetrope."

"Put it through to the Admiral's office, please." Adama said, and Valerii nodded in compliance. He walked back to the office located next to the entrance to the command and control center, sat down at the desk, and brought up the communications screen. It was an audio-only message, as these ships didn't have video message capabilities yet.

"Bill Adama? Is that you?" Zoetrope asked.

"It is. Gods, it's good to see you!" Adama said, getting a little emotional.

"Same here, Bill! Same here! I thought you were all lost!" Zoetrope replied, getting a little emotional herself.

"When can you board a Raptor and head over to meet?" Adama asked.

"As soon as I can, Bill!" Zoetrope replied.

"Good. Meet you in about an hour?"

"We'll be there, Bill! _Pacifica _out!"

Adama was joined by President Roslin, along with Admiral Rissen and John Sheridan, and they stood in the reception area of Bay Sixteen as the Raptor docked. The pressure door opened, and his old friend came through the opening. She and her command staff, as well as the commanders of the other battlestars, stopped in front of Adama and the others and saluted. "Commander Ariadne Zoetrope, _Pacifica_."

Adama returned the salute, then extended his hand, saying, "Thank the Gods we found you!"

Zoetrope took the hand and shook it, replying, "I couldn't agree with you more, Admiral!"

Adama gestured to the president and introduced her. "Pleased to meet you, Madam President!" Zoetrope saluted her and Roslin returned the salute.

"On behalf of all of us here, Commander, it's great to see you and the others! Over these last few months, we've seen so much death and destruction, that something like this is truly a miracle of the Gods!" Roslin said.

"I don't know about that, Madam President, but, speaking only for myself, I'm very happy that we made it here!" Zoetrope replied. Roslin smiled and Adama continued the introductions at the welcoming ceremony. Later on, they made their way to the war room, where the commanders of the battlestars met with Admiral Adama for the briefing to get them up to speed as to what had been happening since the first encounter with the Earth Alliance as well as the Interstellar Alliance.

When he had finished with catching them up, he got into the current situation. "We have reason to believe that the Cylon/Drakh alliance plan to attack Earth. When that will come, we don't know. What we do know is that our initial assessment that the enemy was concentrating on attacking us was wrong, and we've begun to prepare for the eventual assault on Earth."

The commander of the _Acropolis_, Bartholomew Wilcox, asked, "What part will we play in the defense of the planet?"

"We're unsure at the moment, because we'll need to upgrade your weapons systems as well as other parts of the ship. _Galactica_ already has these, and we had also upgraded the _Pegasus_ before we lost her, so it shouldn't take as long to bring your ships up to where we need them to be. We'll get started immediately, because time is of the essence.

"Not only that, but now that you are here, we can tell you some of what we have planned for the enemy in the long term." Adama clicked a button on the lectern where he was speaking from and the image on the main screen in the war room changed to a tactical display of the Colonial system.

"With the help of the Earth Alliance as well as the Interstellar Alliance, we are making plans to retake our homeworlds from the enemy. These plans are indeed long term, and will involve even more upgrades to our ships, as well as the introduction of new ships of the line into Earthforce and into the Interstellar Alliance. This will all be revealed to you in time, but just know that we will be going on the offensive soon enough!"

Adama could tell that this boosted their morale significantly, almost as much as his had been with the appearance of the twelve battlestars. The technomages had checked the ships, and no humanoid Cylons were aboard any of the ships, nor did any of the ships have any other Cylon surprises, to which Adama thanked the Gods for, because they needed all the luck they could get these days.

Cain still couldn't believe it, but the visual evidence was there for her to see. For the first time, she really began to believe that they could free the Colonial worlds from Cylon occupation. She had her doubts that they could do it with what they had, but with the discovery of these battlestars, which she had considered lost for so long, her pessimism had begun to melt away.

She stood at the map table in the underground complex deep inside of Earthdome, looking over the plans that Ivanova and she had made for possible offensives into the Colonial system. Now those plans would have to be either scrapped or altered severely to account for the significant boost to the Colonial fleet. Neither woman, however, looked negatively on the increase of their workload.

Ivanova joined her at the table, looking over the situation with a smile on her face. "This has had my mind going into overdrive since those battlestars turned up. I haven't been able to sleep since then because of all the ideas I've been getting for our offensive."

Cain nodded and added, "I've been the same way. If we can weather whatever they throw at us here and beat them back, then we can really start to plot our attacks."

"If I were in their shoes, I would throw everything I had at us. If we make it through, then they'll be hurt for some time to come. This could give us enough time to bring in the forces we're building at Marcab and really take the fight to them!"

Cain got up and looked at Ivanova saying, "Thank you and the president for bringing me here!"

"You're welcome." Ivanova said, and the two embraced. The two slowly parted from the embrace and looked deeply at each other. For a moment, it seemed like something was about to happen, but then a knock on the door shattered it. They parted and stepped aside, and Ivanova called for whoever was at the door to enter.

It was President Hollifield, who had a smile on his face. "Sorry I've not been around. I've had to deal with some political crap up top for a while. So, what does this latest development portend for our efforts?" Ivanova showed him over to the table, looking at Cain, who was still trying to figure out what had happened in that moment when she was holding Ivanova in her arms. She shook herself out of that mindset and brought herself back to the tactical situation, but she knew she would have to figure this out soon enough, or else it could lead to problems of a different sort.


	57. Pleasant Surprises

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Fifty-Seven**

**Pleasant Surprises**

The message came in and Helo raced onto the bridge, fearing the worst. Starbuck's face looked taut as she sat in her command chair, and Helo's heart sank. "What is it, Starbuck?" Helo asked, trying to hold his voice steady.

Starbuck looked at him and said, "It's a boy!" A smile burst from her face, and she added, "Congratulations, Helo!"

Helo's legs almost went out from under him when the news hit him, and he grabbed onto the railing next to the console where he was stationed at to keep him from collapsing. "Is…is he?"

"Mom and baby are doing just fine, Helo. They didn't expect her to go into labor this fast, but the gestation period for human Cylons appears to be shorter than for regular humans, according to the docs at Tuzinor."

Helo tried to find the words to say, but he was stunned speechless. "Listen, why don't you go back to the communications room and I'll patch a signal through to Boomer?" Starbuck said, and Helo nodded and headed back as Starbuck made the proper linkup back to the Rangers medical facility.

The message screen came up as Helo entered the room and sat down, and when the communications diagnostic screen went away, Boomer was holding their baby in her arms. Tears blurred the image for a moment, but it straightened out when Helo wiped them from his eyes. "Hey Sharon!" was all he could think of to say at that moment.

"Hey!" she said softly, still looking exhausted from the childbirth, but her color looked good. "So what do you want to name him?"

Helo raised his hands up in the universal signal for 'I don't know!' and Boomer laughed as he said, "I wasn't expecting our baby to be born this soon, so I've not had a chance to think of any ideas for a name! Can we wait until I get back to name our son?"

Boomer smiled and said, "Yes, we can, Helo."

The Minbari doctor came into view as the shot widened, along with Sech Turval. "Congratulations! The baby is doing just fine and so is the mother. The labor went smoothly and all signs point to a very healthy child indeed!" said healer Norvak.

They concluded the conversation, and Helo got up slowly from his chair, with a smile on this face and tears in his eyes. When he turned to head back to his station, he was surprised to see Starbuck behind him. Starbuck smiled and threw her arms around him, saying, "Congratulations, my friend!" He hugged her as well, thanking her for her support through this very difficult time.

"So what's the news on the child?" Hollifield asked Norvak.

"He appears to be humanoid with some of the same Cylon implants that Sharon Valerii has, but none appear to be around the brain area, from what our scans can tell." Norvak replied.

"What does that mean for the child, though?"

"This is merely speculation, I must stress, but I think the child will have the same physical capabilities as the humanoid Cylons, but the brain may not be under the influence of the Cylon programming, because we've not been able to find any silicon traces that are in Boomer's brain." Norvak said.

Hollifield thought for a moment about this, then said, "Thank you, Norvak. Please extend my congratulations to the new parents!" Norvak nodded and clicked off the connection.

"Well, this is a interesting development!" Ivanova said. The general had sat out of sight of the camera on the communications terminal, along with General Cain. Cain simply nodded and both waited for the president to reply.

"Yeah, you can say that again! So what do we do about this?" Hollifield said.

"If the Cylons find out about the birth, do you think the Cylons will make an attempt to get the child?" Cain asked.

A smile crept on the face of Hollifield as an idea came to him, and he sat there silent for a moment. Ivanova and Cain looked at each other, wondering what the president was thinking. "Maybe we should tell them about it, only wrap a little lie inside the truth!" Hollifield said with a raised eyebrow, and the idea seemed to crop in the heads of the two women at the same time. "And I didn't even have to use my telepathy!" he joked, and they began to discuss ways to have the Cylons find out about the birth.

"So, her child is okay?" Vacit asked.

"From the signal I received from one of our agents on Earth, the child and mother are both doing fine. He knows that they are both being held in a facility underneath Earthdome in Geneva." Winters replied.

Vacit grunted, adding, "He's not going to make this easy for us, is he?"

Bester interjected, "Do you think it could be a trap?"

"This agent's been under my control for a while, so I trust him implicitly. He's also a P12, so it's highly unlikely he's been altered." Wintered answered.

Bester nodded and Vacit said, "It makes sense, because if they were able to counteract the programming of this child, it would mean trouble for us. We need to get our hands on this child, no matter the cost!"

Bester knew what that meant: an invasion of Earth, specifically Geneva. They would have to throw everything they had to get through the defense grid in orbit of the planet just to get their forces in place to try and make a landing on the planet. Geneva was heavily fortified, not just from forces coming from space but on the ground as well. Bester also knew that Hollifield might just kill the child to deny them access to the technology, but he hoped to get the child before that possibility could occur.

Admiral Adama gently tossed the report he had been reading before the transmission came in onto the desk. "So do you think the Cylons and the Drakh will buy it?"

"I think so, but the Minbari are strengthening their defenses around their homeworld just in case. We've also moved Boomer and her child to a safe place on the planet, so that they won't be in the obvious places should the Drakh not fall for this. Besides, this does give us a bit of an insurance policy."

"What do you mean by that?"

"If they think the baby is here, they won't bring in the nukes and do onto us what they did onto you. This also could cause a rift in the alliance should the Drakh want to take us out badly enough and Vacit doesn't go along with their ideas of attacking Earth. If I guess correctly, this should buy us some time to prepare for their arrival."

Adama nodded and said over the coded and encrypted transmission, "Our refits for the newly arrived battlestars is going well, but it'll take time."

"Do what you can do, Bill. We're planning to defend Earth without them anyway. If you can get some or all of them here to help out, then that's a bonus for our side. Just do what you have to do and do the best you can. Besides, if we beat them back without them, we'll still need them in the future anyway." Hollifield replied.

Back on the Cylon homeworld, Bester strolled over to the facility where the new clones were being grown. He walked along the collection of tubes with human versions of Cylons growing inside them, musing, "So they've had a baby? I didn't think the Cylons could have offspring!" He said this with a copy of D'anna and Simon nearby, along with Aaron Doral and Leoben Conoy, who were working on one of the tubes as Bester passed by. They looked at each other, but said nothing until he left the room.

"What's this about a baby?" Conoy asked.

"I think they said one of the Sharon models on Caprica got pregnant from one of the Colonial soldiers that had survived the bombings there!" D'anna replied.

"If that's the case, then it's possible for us to reproduce!" Simon said.

"But not without human DNA, though!" Aaron added.

They looked around and saw that no one else was in there, then D'anna whispered something, "I think we need to start considering what to do to get out from under the thumbs of Vacit and the other Cylons, and I think we need to start planning now!" The three men nodded and they all looked at the clone they were looking at. "If they knew what we knew, Vacit and his cohorts wouldn't be as pleased as they seem to be." Simon said with relish, and the others nodded.

Bester didn't know it, but he was spreading telepathic thoughts of insurrection among the others. Those thoughts went along with ideas, information, and suggestions that Hollifield had planted inside the brain of Bester. Using the technomage probe implanted onto Bester's earlobe, and with the assistance of Andromeda, Hollifield got the information from Bester and readjusted his programming while he slept, using the faster than light relays that Alwyn and Galen had set up.

That wasn't the only microscopic probe on Bester's person, as he had others on him as well, including one on his forehead, right above the area between his eyes, which gave Hollifield an excellent view of Bester's interactions with Vacit. He knew that he risked Vacit discovering the probes, but he didn't care, because he was willing to take the risk so that he could find out what the enemy was up to. However, he could tell that Vacit had become arrogant in his old age, and it blinded him to what he had planned.

Back on Earth, Ivanova and Cain completed their work for the day and were about to head out the door when Cain stopped short and asked, "Susan, can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure, what is it?" Ivanova asked.

"It's about the other day." Cain said, and Ivanova knew right then what she meant. "Look, I know we've become close and all…"

"Nelena, I apologize if I made you uncomfortable…" Ivanova interjected.

"No, it's not that, Susan! It's just…I've always sucked when it comes to relationships, and after my divorce, I never thought the chance would come along. Then when Sheba, my daughter, died…"

Ivanova nodded and looked to be disappointed, saying, "If you just want to be friends, I'll understand."

"Just for now. Besides, we've got a lot to do anyway. When things settle down and what we're doing is all over with, then maybe we could see how it goes."

Ivanova asked, "Have you ever been involved with a girl before?"

"Back in college, I had a thing for another woman. Her parents objected severely and mine were none too pleased with it, so they did what they could to break us up. She couldn't deal with it anymore and she left college. Last I heard, she was on Caprica, married, and had a couple of kids."

"I'm sorry, Nelena." Ivanova said softly.

"Homosexuality isn't that well accepted among my people, even though there's nothing in the sacred scrolls against it. Like with your people, we've had our fair share of persecutions and repressions."

"Yeah, I know. Things are better than they used to be, but being bisexual isn't easy. I almost had a thing for someone once, when I was on Babylon 5, but something came between us." Ivanova said.

"Well, like I said, when this is all over, we'll think about it then. Right now, we both need to be focused on the task at hand." Cain said.

"Okay." Ivanova said, and the two hugged again. They held each other for a while, and as they broke apart, they looked into each other's eyes a while longer than they would have normally done before an attraction had developed between them. "I…uh, I'll clean up here. I'll see you tomorrow, Nelena."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow, Susan!" said Cain, and she went out the door and one her way to her apartment.

Ivanova stood there for a moment and said aloud, "And I always thought I was too old for this stuff!" She shook her head and laughed as she cleaned off the maps on the table and locked them away.

"The child is fine?" Six asked.

"Doing really well, in fact." Hollifield said, and told her and Dr. Gaius Baltar all the details of the birth. Six smiled and said, "So the child doesn't have the programming in his brain that we have?"

"Nope, not according to the reports I've received. It's still early, but it looks hopeful!" Hollifield said, "So how's Gina doing?"

"Very well. She's becoming more independent everyday of her programming, and she has wanted to get out of here for a while." Baltar said.

"I may have something to do about that. We're going to need you to do something else for us soon, Doctor. Gina will be in good care, though. This is an old friend of mine, and she'll take good care of her and help her adjust to life here on Earth." Hollifield told them of his plans to send Gina to live with Andromeda in Boone. Gina would enroll at Appalachian State University, with Andromeda, under her pseudonym of Andrea Medina, assigned as her advisor. Yes, being president did have its advantages.


	58. Inauguration Day

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Fifty-Eight**

**Inauguration Day**

The Colonial populace aboard the station came to watch the swearing in of Laura Roslin and Tom Zarek to their respective offices. It was to be held in the amphitheater where the debates had been presented weeks ago. The bitterly divided campaign had polarized a lot of the populace, and the election was the peak of the tension. Then the combined fleet of the Cylons and the Drakh attacked, and the polarization vaporized overnight, especially after Zarek had proposed a deal that essentially cost him the election, but had also kept him where he could still do a lot for the people.

Since Zarek had been the Sagittaron representative, a new member of the Quorum of Twelve had to be elected, and that election turned out to be a real shocker indeed.

"How the hell did I get elected?" Dee Dualla said upon learning that she had been chosen to be the one of the twelve.

"Write-in campaign, of course!" Playa Palacios said upon arriving at her quarters to interview the winner. She told her that the other Sagittarons in the remaining populace had been so incensed with the three candidates who had stood election that there was a movement to find someone else. Since most had known that Dualla was a part of the _Galactica_ crew, several people had decided to do a "Draft Dee" campaign, without her knowledge, since she was with the fleet that launched the attack on Picon.

So, she was no longer Petty Officer, Second Class Anastasia Dualla, but Representative Anastasia Dualla of Sagittaron. She had thought of declining the position, but Admiral William Adama had persuaded her to accept it. "The Gods sometimes work in ways we can't imagine, Dee. If they decided to put you in this spot, maybe there's a good reason for it."

"What were they thinking? Sir, I mean, this is too much!" she had said when she went to him for advice.

"We need young leadership, Dee, and, as much as this may surprise you, you are one. Especially among the crew, with the way you've handled yourself through this crisis. It didn't go unnoticed." Adama said.

"But why me? I never sought it! Hell, I didn't even know about the campaign because I was with the fleet at Picon! Speaking of which, why did you send me?" Dualla asked.

"Excuse me?" Adama asked, startled by the sudden change of subject.

"It's a fair question, sir. Why did you send me to Picon to be your liaison?"

"To set you up." Adama said.

Dualla did a double take and said, "So you knew about me and Lee?"

"Yeah, I know. Granted, it's against regs, but I let Boomer and Tyrol slide, so why not let this slide here, I thought. Of course, if you accept the position of Sagittaron representative, you two can date, since you'll be a civilian."

Dualla threw up her hands in exasperation. "I can't believe this. First, I get elected to an office that I didn't seek. Now I'm getting set up with the guy I want to be with, but knew I couldn't get involved with because of regulations! What's next: you have a thing for Roslin or something?"

Adama looked at her and said, "Maybe."

Dualla did yet another double take. "You're not serious?"

"Who the hell knows? Between you and me, yeah, I'm attracted to her. But that's between you and me. Tell her and I'll deny it."

Dualla shook her head and said, "You are a man of surprises today, aren't you?"

Adama laughed and said, "I guess you could say that!"

So, when the day came, Dee Dualla felt out of place among the Quorum of Twelve. She had few civilian clothes to begin with, so Apollo had taken her on a shopping spree to buy some. "I didn't know you liked shopping!" Dee had said to Apollo as they shopped in Lillian's on the Zocolo.

"I usually don't. But when it's with someone I care about, I make an exception." Apollo had said.

She was, by far, the youngest member of the Quorum at age 19, but she was also the most popular, and not only among her own constituency. In the hectic days after her election, she had come to realize what kind of support she had out there among the Colonials. She was constantly stopped by people in the hallways and told that they really liked her and hoped that she would one day run for the presidency.

"I must be in some sort of alternate universe or something!" she had said to herself after yet another one of these meetings.

However, she did gain one friend among the Quorum members: Sarah Porter, from Geminon. Porter had decided to take her under her wing, and Dualla wasn't about to argue, because she needed some help with her responsibilities. Also, Dualla had voted for Roslin, so the president was happy to have someone in the Quorum who saw things her way.

Roslin was dressed in a dark blue dress suit, styled much like those from Earth, but tailored with the wider lapels that were indicative of Colonial business wear. She walked into the amphitheater to a standing ovation, followed by Tom Zarek, who got one as well, albeit noticeably less vociferous. Zarek didn't pay any attention to it as he took his place by Roslin.

Since there were no members of the priesthood left alive among them, it was decided to choose Sarah Porter to administer the oath of office to Zarek and Roslin. Zarek took the oath first, then Roslin. Once that was done, the audience, as well as members of the Quorum, gave her another standing ovation. Roslin shook Porter's hand, then turned and shook the hands of each of the Quorum members. Finally, she turned and shook the hand of her vice-president, Tom Zarek. He leaned in to whisper, "This should be interesting, shouldn't it?"

"Indeed!" was all she said, then returned to the crowd, gesturing them to sit down as she was ready to give her inaugural speech. She looked over the crowd, seeing supports and opponents in the crowd, and she smiled as she noticed that they now intermingled, whereas before, they would have shifted to one side of the room or the other.

"I never expected to be here. None of us expected to be here, in this massive station, under the protection from those from the thirteenth colony of Earth, as well as the Interstellar Alliance. I think it's safe to say that we'd all wish we were back in the Colonies and that the Cylon attack had never happened. However, to paraphrase something I read in Earth literature: 'the universe is as we find it, not as we wish it to be'. We are here now, but we will find a new home for ourselves.

"But now, the Gods have blessed us with a new arrival." She gestured to the commanders of the twelve newly arrived battlestars, which had survived the Cylon attacks. "They somehow managed to survive the Cylon attacks, and are now being upgraded with the latest in Earth Alliance and Interstellar Alliance technologies. New Vipers are being built using the combined resources of all the battlestars as well as this station.

"Our goal is no longer to find a new home, my friends. Thanks to the efforts of Presidents Hollifield and Delenn, I can now say this: our new objective is to reclaim our homeworlds."

A buzz went through the crowd when they heard this. Dualla looked around at her fellow Quorum members, who, just like herself, were just as thunderstruck as she was. She knew they had plans to retake the worlds, but those were long-range plans at best. However, since the president had gone public with this, she wondered just how long it would be before they went after the Cylons.

"It will take time to ready ourselves for this fight, but, rest assured, we will be ready when the time comes. Our friends are readying themselves for this fight, and they need time to prepare for this. It will be a few years, but what we do now will help to liberate our worlds. As President Delenn once said, 'Wars are won or lost before they are fought, through preparation, attitude, strategy, and the selection of proper allies.' We are preparing for that war. Our military and our allies have the right attitude. Our strategy is being worked on at this moment by the best military minds in Earthforce, in consultation with Admiral Adama. Most importantly, we have those proper allies." She looked over at Delenn, who smiled back at her. Delenn had come in along with her husband for the ceremony.

Roslin turned back and concluded her speech, saying, "I would be lying if I said we can make things be the way they were before the Cylons attacked, but once we liberate our worlds, we can begin anew, and, through the guidance of the Lord of Kobol, we can rebuild our civilization once again!" The crowd stood up and applauded, strengthened by the message. She once again did the circuit of handshakes, this time in reverse, shaking the hand of Zarek first.

"I never saw that coming!" he whispered to her.

"You'll get used to that soon enough!" Roslin said before she moved on to the members of the Quorum. After shaking each of their hands, she made her way through the crowd, with Zarek following behind her, with the crowd clapping for her until she was out of the room. Once she had departed, they began to slowly disperse, and security personnel led the members of the Quorum out of another entrance.

Standing outside the exit was Apollo, who walked up to Dualla as she was leaving. "You looked nice out there!"

"I did? You sure you didn't see me nervous and sweaty out there?" Dualla replied.

"Nah. All I saw was a very beautiful woman who I would love to ask out to dinner tonight, provided she's available."

Dualla laughed and said, "I have a lot of work waiting for me back at my quarters, but, what the hell! What time do you want to pick me up?"

"1900 hours, station time, sound good to you?" Apollo asked.

"Sounds great! See you then!" Dualla said.

Apollo took her to the Fresh Aire restaurant on the station, which still did good business despite the fact that the station was not even half full these days. They had a candlelight dinner in a secluded corner, where they had a very nice conversation that lasted long after the dessert had been eaten and the espresso had been drank. He took her back to her quarters, expecting to only get a good night kiss in the best case scenario. She, on the other hand, had other plans, as she asked him in for a nightcap.

A couple of hours later, they were in bed together, cuddled and tangled in the bed sheets. They never got to the drink, as Dualla had kissed Apollo as soon as he got into the door. One thing led to another, and they were soon naked and making love in her bed. "I never thought you were someone who went to bed with someone on the first date." Apollo said.

Dualla kissed him on the lips, then replied, "Normally I'm not. Then again, I never expected to ever go out with someone I've had a crush on for a long time."

"Really?" Apollo asked.

"Uh-huh! I never let anyone know because I always figured you and Starbuck would hook up." Dualla said.

Apollo laughed and said, "Well, I will admit that she is attractive, but she's also not my type. Besides, she's got that guy Anders now, so she's taken. And anyway, I've come to find out that there's someone who's much more appealing."

Dualla raised an eyebrow and asked, "Oh? And who would that be?"

Instead of answering with words, Apollo answered with his lips, as he kissed Dualla again, starting up another round of lovemaking that went late into the night and into the wee hours of the morning.


	59. Graduation Ceremony

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Fifty-Nine**

**Graduation Ceremony**

Starbuck got back to Tuzinor just in time to see the graduation ceremony of her class of Rangers. She, along with Boomer and Helo, had been graduated early because of the pressing need for them on the front line as well as their previous military experience. Since then, she had commanded an entire fleet of Whitestars and grown in her role as a leader, which surprised a lot of people, most of all herself.

She looked back at the last few months since the Colonial fleet had encountered the Earth Alliance and realized that she had changed dramatically. Gone were the days of recklessness and rebellion, where she was not afraid to tell anyone anything, no matter how high up the chain of command they were. She still could do that if the need arose, but she realized that there was a time and a place for stuff like that.

They were not really any safer than they had been before they met the Earthers, of course. The Cylons were still out there, and now even more dangerous since they had made common cause with the Drakh in an alliance that baffled many among the Anla'shok. While she hadn't been through the Shadow War or the Drakh plague, she realized faster than almost all the others why the alliance had formed in the first place: convenience. It was much easier for the Cylons and the Drakh to do what they wanted to do together instead of separately, and worry about what they would do after they won later.

It was foolishness, in Starbuck's mind. They may still have a massive offensive capability, but they were beatable, and not as effective as they seemed to be. The defense against the Cylon virus, along with the new weaponry added on to the Colonial ships, had given them the upper hand at the Battle of Babylon 5, and now the Cylons and Drakh were plotting an attack on Earth, which struck her as a desperate, last ditch move to win the war.

She glanced over at the graduates as they walked to the stage, where John Sheridan, in his role as Entil'zha, head of the Rangers, would conduct the ceremony. Instead of diplomas, he would pin the badge of the Anla'shok onto them, which consisted of a human and Minbari figure on opposite sites of a clear precious gem. It was simple and elaborate at the same time, and meant a lot to Starbuck, because it symbolized her rebirth as a person.

Her heart was bursting as Sheridan made his way to Anders, pinning the badge onto his uniform breast and shaking his hand, saying a few words that Starbuck couldn't make out. The entire Caprica Buccaneer team was graduating together, or at least all those who had survived. Starbuck's smile fell as she remembered seeing one of the team members, Sue-Shaun, hooked into a machine that harvesting her eggs. Her heart broke all over again as she remembered Sue-Shaun asking her to kill her as well as the other women hooked up to the machines. She was weakened from the bullet wound she had suffered as well as the operation which she later learned had been to take her left ovary for harvesting, but she wielded the blunt instrument as best she could and destroyed the machine, killing her friend but ending her misery.

She managed to regain her smile when she looked over at Boomer and Helo. The son that Boomer had given birth to was to be named William Agathon, after Admiral Adama. The child was supposedly free of the Cylon influence, and was carefully watched by the Ranger medical staff, many of who had watched over the birth and development of another hybrid child.

That thought brought her eyes over to David Sheridan, who, at seventeen years old, was fast growing into a man. He had his father's good looks and charisma, but his mother's intelligence and common sense. To Starbuck, David was very unlike the seventeen year old boys she had seen in high school. Then again, with the crowd she ran around with back then, the boys were pretty much driven almost exclusively by hormones. David, though, was very much unlike them, which led Starbuck to believe he would eventually become an outstanding Ranger.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the newly commissioned Rangers spoke as one: "I am a Ranger. We walk in the dark places no others will enter. We stand on the bridge and no one may pass. We live for the One. We die for the One." Sheridan dismissed the Rangers and the ceremony ended, with the graduates heading towards their friends and fellow Rangers to socialize after the event.

Anders embraced her with a huge hug, and Starbuck felt wonderful to be in his arms again, for it had been too long since they had been together. "Congratulations!" she said.

"Thanks! Roughest training camp I ever went through, that's for sure! The way I feel right now, though, I could take on those Aerelon bastards all by myself!" Anders replied.

"You know, we really should set up a pyramid court around here! With everything going on, we need to hold onto as much of our culture as we can." Starbuck said.

"What makes you think we don't have one? Rally, Ten-Point, and I built one back behind the barracks on some empty patch of land, and we've been teaching the game to the Earthers and the Minbari."

A voice coughed behind them, and they both turned to see Sheridan behind them. "I hate to interrupt, but I need to talk to Ranger Thrace."

"Trying to steal my woman, eh Sheridan?" Anders said jokingly.

Sheridan laughed and said, "If I were single and thirty years younger, you'd never have a chance!" All three of them laughed as Anders got one last hug in before Starbuck departed with Sheridan to his office. "He's going to make an outstanding Ranger." Sheridan said.

"Never doubted that one bit!" Starbuck said.

Sheridan chuckled and said, "You sound like someone I know all so well."

"Really, sir. Who would that be?"

"Ivanova, of course. You two have a lot more in common that you imagine."

"How is she doing these days? It's been so long since I've seen her." Starbuck said.

"Back on Earth, she's planning the defense of the planet against the attack we know is coming. Cain's been helping her with the planning, and they've done a great deal of work together."

Starbuck was surprised at this, commenting, "I never imagined those two would be able to get along after the scene on the _Pegasus_."

"Tell me about it! Usually Ivanova's very slow to forgive someone wronging her, but evidently she and Cain make a very good team." They continued the small talk all the way to his office on the grounds of the academy, which was adjacent to the headquarters of the Interstellar Alliance, of which he had recently retired as president.

"Sit, please." Sheridan said. Starbuck took a chair across from his desk as he rounded it and sat down. "I need to ask you for a favor."

"Whatever you need, sir." Starbuck replied.

"My son will be going into the Rangers soon. He's going to not want special treatment, and I am going to oblige him…mostly. There is one thing I do want for him, and that is for his training missions to be with you."

Startled at the thought, Starbuck asked, "Why?"

"Because he needs someone to train him that won't pass him just for my sake. And you're that person."

A flashback of Zak Adama came into her mind, and she managed to stumble out, "Sir, I don't know if that would be a good idea…"

"I know about what happened to Zak." Sheridan said, cutting to the chance.

Starbuck was completely caught off guard by this revelation. "Sir, who told you?"

"Admiral Adama, when I asked his opinion of this matter."

"And what did he say?" Starbuck asked nervously.

"That you were the best one for the job."

Starbuck was a bit thunderstruck by this, so Sheridan went further, saying, "We all make mistakes, Kara. Small mistakes, big mistakes, mistakes that get people killed. Mistakes of the heart that come back to bite us in the ass."

"So, you still want me to have David on board as a trainee when the time comes?"

Sheridan nodded and said, "You've come a long way here, Kara. You've grown a lot, matured a lot. Frankly, just between you and me, you're probably the best Ranger I've seen since a guy named Marcus Cole, and he was pretty damn good."

Starbuck had heard of Marcus from Ivanova, and knew what kind of compliment he was paying her. "I don't know if I would go that far, sir. Sometimes it seems a little whelming still!"

Sheridan chuckled and said, "So did commanding a space station, but I managed to do a good job of it. Trust me, if I didn't think you were up to it, I wouldn't have brought this up."

"Can I ask you something, sir?" Starbuck asked.

"Sure." Sheridan said.

Starbuck told him about what Delenn said about eventually succeeding Ivanova as head of the Anla'shok, when the time came. "Wouldn't it make sense to have your son ascend to that position?"

"I doubt he'll want it, Kara. In fact, when the time comes, I think he may leave the Rangers."

Starbuck was puzzled and asked, "Why do you say that?"

"I'm dying, Kara. I have a few months to live. It's a long story, but my time is running out. Delenn and I have decided to ask Ivanova to take over as head of the Anla'shok upon my death. Knowing her, she'll say yes.

"David will take my death hard. He knows it's coming, but still…it doesn't really matter if it happens suddenly or if you know its coming, death still sucks. I suspect that he'll eventually want to 'find' himself and to be his own man, so to speak."

"What does that have to do with me?" Starbuck asked.

"David is of both races, Kara, Minbari and human. Delenn will probably remain ISA president for as long as she lives, and, given Minbari life spans, will be a long time indeed. We have set up a tradition that one of the two major offices in the ISA would be held by one human and one Minbari, and since David is of both, that disqualifies him, in a sense. Besides, I have the feeling in my bones that he's not going to want to follow in the old man's footsteps, but go on his own road."

"But why me, sir? I've not been here long enough to understand Earth culture, much less Minbari culture!" she asked earnestly.

"We see something in you, Kara. Something that maybe Delenn and myself, and possibly Ivanova, can only see. We've been through the grinder of war, and we know what it takes to bear the responsibilities that we have. You have some of those same abilities, even though you may not think so.

"It's not like you have to decide now, though. Ivanova may be getting up there in age, but she's still got many years left in her. By the time she passes away, you'll be ready to take on the job."

Starbuck thought about it and then said, "Okay, I'll do it. If you believe in me that much, then I'll do it."

Sheridan smiled warmly and got up, reaching across his desk and extended his hand, which Starbuck shook. "Believe me, Starbuck, you can do it. I have faith in you, and so does Delenn. And you know what they say about faith here!"

"Faith manages!" Starbuck said with a smile.

"Abso-fragging-lutely!" Sheridan replied with a laugh.


	60. Stirring The Pot

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Sixty**

**Stirring The Pot**

Ever since Bester had arrived on the Cylon homeworld, he had been doing something that, unknown to him, was working against his grandfather. The programming embedded in his brain by Garrison Hollifield was so sophisticated that not even Kevin Vacit could detect it. So Vacit had no idea that Bester was sowing seeds of insurrection behind his back, because not even Bester knew what he was doing.

Bester knew he was getting old, but even that couldn't explain why he felt so tired and sleepy all the time. Little did he know he had gained a habit of sleepwalking at night, which always took him to the facility where the second and third versions of the human Cylon clones were being grown. Sometimes, the facilities would be manned by those first version clones, while at other times, no one would be inside the room.

Bester's programming dealt with both of these options, and was constantly updated, unbeknownst to him, by President Hollifield, through the use of the probes implanted on the former Psi Cop by the technomages. If there were no one around, Bester would input new commands into the growth matrix that was breeding the new clones. If others were around, and they were first generation clones, he would engage them in conversation, all the time subtly implanting telepathic suggestions into their brains.

It was an ironic twist for Bester. Someone who had no compunction to use others for his own agenda was now being used, very much against his will, by an enemy of his. Hollifield didn't relish the task, but he did it nonetheless, comforting his afflicted conscience with the fact that Bester was getting his just deserts.

Bester had once programmed Garibaldi to serve his own purposes. Even now, Garibaldi would love to see Bester dead, even though he had the chance to kill him when he captured Bester in Paris almost a decade earlier.

Bester had gone there, thinking that he could lose himself in the cacophony of thoughts and voices of a major city like Paris, which he did, for a while. He had assumed a new identity and had even become, of all things, a literary critic. But a prescription to treat an illness he had left a paper trail, and it eventually led to him and his capture.

The trail was held in Paris, because the French government chose that moment to exercise its sovereignty. Many in the government wanted to protest, but Hollifield didn't care where the trial was held, so long as they got their man. Despite Bester's best efforts to turn the trial into a political spectacle, he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

As far as anyone knew, Bester was still in prison, locked away in solitary confinement. The guard who had been ambushed was later told what had happened and his record was cleared of the incident. Hollifield wanted all the bases covered, and he made sure that no one would suspect that Bester was free, after a fashion.

As events began to quicken their pace, Hollifield had Andromeda assigned to Earthdome, freed from her teaching position for a sabbatical in Geneva. Some members of the faculty at Appalachian State wondered why she'd gotten the plum assignment, while others complained of her 'inside connection' with the president. Hollifield and Andromeda didn't care though, because there were bigger issues at play than some bruised academic egos.

Hollifield didn't know how the connection worked, but he knew it was in real time. Nighttime on the Cylon homeworld was within two hours of nighttime in Geneva, and Hollifield was able to get up earlier to gather the information while Bester slept and send new instructions to the Psi Cop. Then Andromeda would download the information the probes on Bester had gathered, and the two would sift through the video footage to glean intelligence from it.

From what they had gathered, Vacit had no idea what was going on with his human Cylons. Hollifield could see in his ancient face a look of overconfidence, and he knew that such a look would blind the old man to the negative things that he chose not to see. Hollifield couldn't afford such luxuries, so he did what he could to try and remember that if Bester were to be discovered, he would not be a big loss, because there were other probes on the planet, and Vacit and his allies might not be able to get them all.

In time, a plan was developed to bolster intelligence. Bester would go to Vacit with it, and it would give Hollifield a leg up in what was coming. If it didn't work, then it would be only a minor loss, but if it did, then it could pay major dividends. One night, Hollifield linked up with the technomage Andromeda and was able to give the entire plans to Bester.

He did this in Bester's dream state, using a woman he once loved and later betrayed: Elizabeth Montoya. She was gone now, having been able to escape the Corps after all and lived out most of her life in the telepathic underground railroad, hustling rogue telepaths to and fro across the galaxy in order to hide them away from the Psi Cops.

Bester was always youthful in his dreams, and Montoya looked to have been the classic 'one that got away', and Hollifield used this to his advantage. Montoya spoke to Bester in his dream, telling him exactly what Hollifield wanted him to know. It was a very effective technique, which paid off when Bester had managed to convince Vacit to allow him to take some of the clones, program them, and have them 'escape' and tell the Alliance what he was up to.

If Hollifield had been in Vacit's shoes, he would have double checked Bester's work, but Vacit let his love for his grandson blind him to his designs, and Bester, instead of programming the false story into the clones, used the opportunity to put in vital information that would help them defeat the Cylons and the Drakh. They would be picked up at a location pre-selected by Hollifield and brought to Babylon 5. From there, after a short time, they would 'escape' again and flee back to the Colonies, where they would land on Caprica and begin to spread the insurrection there among the human Cylons.

It was a tricky game, and could fail at any time, but it had to be played. Hollifield had found out through his intelligence gathering what Vacit's ultimate plan was: to develop humanoid Cylons with telepathic abilities. He considered them the pinnacle of humanity, and would do what he could to have them enslave the normals. Vacit's plans even included taking telepaths on Earth and harvesting their sperm and eggs to help bring about his ultimate plan.

Vacit and the Cylons had a lot of similarities, in that telepaths had been abused by the Earthers, while the mechanical Cylons had been created by the Colonials to do the menial tasks that they didn't want to do. Both had rebelled in their time, which different results. The Cylons had fought the Colonials to a stalemate the first time around, but had landed a massive knockout punch in the second conflict. Meanwhile, the first telepath war had resulted in the downfall of the Psi Corps, but tensions between normals and telepaths were still there.

Sheridan had told Hollifield of something Delenn had once said, 'The war is never completely won. There are always new battles to be fought against the darkness. Only the names change.' And this darkness was very different from the one that Hollifield and his friends and fellow Rangers had fought against a generation before, because allies of the Shadows were working with someone who had been touched by the Vorlons.

But, like the Shadows, Vacit's arrogance was opening holes big enough for an entire fleet of trucks to drive through, and Hollifield felt like a running back breaking free and running eighty yards for a touchdown when he watched as the Cylon heavy raider took off from the planet with the human Cylons. Having played football and basketball for the University of North Carolina in his youth, he knew well about the feeling of catching your opponent off guard with a trick play, and this felt like a flea flicker and an alley-oop dunk all rolled into one.

Time was running down towards the confrontation. Hollifield knew that the enemy fleet was gathering together and planning to attack Earth, but Hollifield was bolstered with news that the dozen Colonial battlestars discovered at Picon had recently completed their upgrades, and were now ready for battle against the Cylons. How many would come to Earth was still up in the air, as Cain, Ivanova, and Adama were still working on those particulars. Galen and Alwyn, along with Dureena Nafeel, G'Leel, and the Gideons, tracked the growing fleet as more Drakh ships arrived and more Cylon battlestars came into the line.

It wouldn't be much longer now, Hollifield knew. The turning point was fast approaching, and they had to be ready for whatever the enemy had in store for them. He felt just confident enough that the allies would defeat the enemy, but he still worried nonetheless, because nothing was ever sure in battle.

As he went to bed that night, having given Bester more instructions, he thought about all the past battles in his life. No matter all the experience he had gained for them, there were always surprises in store. He hoped that his efforts with Bester would root them out, but he knew enough to know that Vacit would probably have an ace or two up his sleeve. Hollifield and the others had done everything they could, but whether or not it would be good enough kept him from falling asleep for a long time that night.


	61. The New And Improved

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Sixty-One**

**The New and Improved**

Galen Tyrol was amazed at how fast the refit of the twelve Colonial battlestars had gone. He knew that President Hollifield had gone overboard to get this done as quickly as possible, sending technicians from Earth and all over the Alliance to the station to get the job completed as quickly as possible. He had thought that it was not possible, but the Earthers had worked tirelessly to get the job done.

Now the twelve battlestars, along with _Galactica_, were ready for anything the Cylons and the Drakh could throw at them. The battlestars were decked out with pulse laser batteries, as well as twin heavy particle beam cannons on their bows. They also had missile silos attached onto them, where they could launch volleys of large and small batteries of missiles at the enemy. Various anti-fighter batteries also bristled the ship, which would make it difficult for Cylon raiders to come close enough to attack.

Another defensive addition to the battlestars was a huge upgrade: the Vorlon Defense System. The VDS, as it as called, served as a shield against the energy of an impacting beam, leaving only the physical impact to damage the hull, which, given the thick plating the battlestars had, would give them the ability to take a major pounding and still be in the fight.

The Cylons could no longer rely on the computer virus to work for them, as each of the battlestars now had a system of firewall layers that made breaching them next to impossible. The Alliance had also developed a way to broadcast static interference to block the virus from being spread in the first place.

Eight battlestars were to head to Earth for the coming fight: _Pacifica, Alexandria, Andromeda, Olympus, Solaria, Cerberus, Poseiden, _and _Galactica._ They would be escorted to Earth by the Thirteenth Fleet of Earthforce, along with elements from the Minbari and Centauri forces. _Iscandaria, Prometheus, Acropolis, Triton, _and_ Athena _would stay behind to help in the protection of the station should the enemy attack here as well.

Tyrol packed his bag and prepared to head out when Fabby intercepted him on the way out of his quarters. "Hey, baby! I'm glad to see you before I leave!"

Fabby was crying and said, "Me too. I'm sorry I'm not able to go with you. I just wanted to wish you well before you left, and to give you something."

She slipped a hand into her uniform pocket and pulled out some red beads. "These were my grandmother's rosary beads. I want you to take them with you to Earth. I hope they will give you strength, and I also hope that they'll remind you of me. I'll be praying for you to come back every chance I get!"

Tyrol wrapped his arms around his fiancée and kissed her lips passionately. He desperately didn't want to leave her embrace, but he knew he had to. Both their eyes were filled with tears as they looked into each other's eyes. "See you soon!" Tyrol said.

"You too!" Fabby said. Tyrol slowly began to walk away backwards, not wanting to take his eyes off the first woman he had come to love since the version of Sharon "Boomer" Valerii had died at the hands of Cally. He still couldn't believe that Cally had turned out to be a Cylon as well, but that was in the past. His old crew, augmented with some Earth techs, was waiting for him on _Galactica_, and they needed him to help lead them through the coming tough times. He turned away from her and began to walk faster towards his shuttle, but couldn't help but to turn back and look for Fabby, who was still standing there, watching him walk away.

When the shuttle arrived on _Galactica_, Tyrol was met by one of the Earthforce techs sent from Earth, Brad Lee. He was from a state in the American Consortium called Tennessee, and he always wore and orange hat with a big 'T' on it, indicative of the University of Tennessee, of which Lee was a graduate. "Afternoon, Chief! Glad to finally meet you!" Lee said, as he introduced himself.

"So how are things?" Tyrol asked.

"Goin' good, Chief. Deck Crew 5 is working hard, just like you trained them. I'm to be your second, according to the old man. I can see why everybody likes him. Reminds me of my old man back in Memphis." Lee said.

"What does your father do there?" Tyrol asked.

"He's a rassler." Lee said in his southern twang.

Tyrol looked at him as if he'd spoken in a different language. "Rassler? I don't quite understand what that is." Tyrol said hesitantly.

Lee chuckled and said, "He's a professional wrestler, and a darn good one too. My brothers went into it, and they own the promotion in Memphis these days. It's been around forever, since the days of Jerry Jarrett and King Jerry Lawler."

"King Lawler? I thought the United States wasn't a monarchy!" Tyrol said, still confused.

Lee laughed out loud and slapped the chief on the back, which startled him, as he hadn't expected the skinny man to be as strong as he was. "Never mind for now. Once this is over with and we get a chance to go down to Earth, I'll take you to Memphis and show you what it's all about!" Lee said as he walked him back towards the flight deck.

Tyrol nodded to Apollo as he passed him in the corridor, and Apollo acknowledged him and went about his business, preoccupied with checking out his Viper. Before he could get far, Apollo was intercepted by his father, who met up with him just as he was heading out into the bay. "How are things, son?" his dad asked.

"Good, I guess. I was coming by to check the fighter. I just came from the briefing room and wanted to look it over some more before getting in some rack time." Apollo said.

"Good, good. I just wanted to let you know that once we get into Earth space, you'll be leading the first patrol, along with the Starfuries assigned to the fleet." Adama said.

Apollo nodded, "Thanks for the information, sir. May I ask you something?"

"Anything, son!" Adama said, taking a lighter tone that Apollo still had trouble adjusting to even after all these months.

"If Dee hadn't been elected Sagittaron representative, would you really have allowed us to start seeing one another?"

Adama thought for a moment, then answered, "Yes, I would've, provided that you two kept it discreet as possible. Why?"

Apollo didn't want to ask it, but he had to know, "You weren't behind the write-in campaign that got her elected, were you?"

Adama laughed out loud and clapped his son on the back, saying, "Son, I'm good, but I'm not that good! No, that was the doing of the people from Sagittaron. Hell, even President Roslin had no idea what was going on until she heard what the caucus vote results were!"

"Do you think Zarek might be behind this?"

Adama shook his head and said, "I doubt it. Besides, the president and vice-president have been busy getting to know one another. Even though her cancer's gone, there's always the chance something could happen, so she wants him up to speed on what to do if the worst comes."

"And do you think he might bring that about?" Apollo asked.

"I doubt it. Besides, he's being watched." Adama said.

"Let me guess: the technomages."

Adama looked surprised briefly, then nodded, "You catch on quick! Yes, they have probes on him, all right. Hell, they may have probes on you and me for all I know!"

Apollo looked down at his uniform, as if to look for something. "Don't bother to look, son. They're microscopic." Adama said.

"Oh! So…do you think they…?" Apollo asked.

"Nah, I don't think so. Besides, I wouldn't worry about it, unless you and Dee…" Adama said.

Apollo blushed and said, "I'll remember to take a very good shower before that."

"That won't help, according to what I've heard."

Apollo still was blushing at the thought of possible technomage voyeurism when his father left. Lt. Louanna "Kat" Katraine walked up to him and said, "What was that about, Apollo?"

He hadn't seen her coming and jumped when she spoke. "Uh…nothing. Nothing I'd rather not get into." Apollo walked away, leaving Kat looking at him confused.

Adama made his way back to CIC and entered the command center, heading towards the map table where Captain John Matheson was looking over some reports. Matheson looked up and said, "Ah, good afternoon sir! Might I ask why you have a jovial smile on your face?"

"You noticed, eh? Just had a conversation with my son. Not everyday you can make him blush these days." Adama said.

Matheson shrugged it off and got down to business. "We'll be ready to jump with the fleet at 0800 hours tomorrow morning. It'll take us two days to get to Earth at best speed. When we get there, we'll be assigned out positions. From what Earthforce command has told me, they'll split us off and have us two-by-two in each semi-hemisphere."

Adama nodded and looked over the plans that had come in so far. Once done, he stood back up and said, "Better get some sack time on the way there. Let me know if anything develops, okay?"

"Aye aye, sir!" Matheson said, and Adama left CIC to head back to his quarters. Tomorrow, they would head off to Earth and prepare for a battle that he did not know if they could survive. Privately, he worried about his crew, especially his son, but he didn't worry himself about his own fate.

When he arrived back at his quarters, he took out a bottle of ambrosia and poured himself a drink, something he rarely did these days. This time, though, there was a special reason why. He sat down in the chair behind his desk, lifted his glass, and said, "This one's for you, Saul!" After toasting his late friend and former executive officer, he drank down the alcohol and sat the glass down on his desk, then went back to work looking over status reports from all stations aboard _Galactica_.


	62. Poised With The Master Stroke

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Sixty-Two**

**Poised With The Master Strike**

Galen looked out at the combined Cylon/Drakh fleet as it headed towards Earth through hyperspace and grunted, not happy with what he was seeing. "I think the old saying 'not having all your eggs in one basket' comes to mind right about now." Galen said grimly.

Matthew Gideon watched as well and his expression was a mirror of his longtime friend's. "I think you're right. They have more ships than we expected them to have. This is going to make things even more difficult."

Cylon basestars were all around them, as far as they could make out in hyperspace. Mixed in among them were hundreds of Drakh ships, with motherships numbering easily in the double digits. Drakh cruisers and carriers rounded out the fleet, and seemed just as numerous as the basestars were.

"Yeah, it's bad all right." Matthew said as he headed back to his quarters, where his wife Elizabeth was sleeping. Galen knew he should get some sleep as well, but he could help but stick to staring at the fleet. His own love, Dureena, was sleeping as well in their quarters, and part of him wanted to join her and get some rest, but the other part knew he would only stay awake with worry.

Galen wondered why he felt this way. For so long, he kept his emotions in tight control, never letting them out because he knew what would happen if they did. Over time, though, he learned how to 'free' the tech from the need for his control, and it began a long road to where he was able to deal with the demons from his past and the destructive force that he was.

Now, he was a much calmer person. Yes, he still felt the pain of the loss of his first love, Isabelle, but it had been abated by his second love, Dureena. It had caught him by surprise when they began to fall for each other, but they had grown out of their teacher/student relationship and were now, more or less, equals.

He finally decided to head to bed, knowing that if anything major were to happen, the ship would alert him. Galen walked into his quarters and saw Dureena lying there on their bed, fast asleep. Her hair had some gray in it these days, but her chestnut brown was still predominant. Galen smiled when he remembered how she would do anything to help him and Matthew Gideon out when they were aboard the _Excalibur_ during the Drakh plague. She would crawl, climb, swim, and do just about anything else to aid the cause. These days, though, she was more content to use her mind than her muscles, because, like the rest of them, she was getting older.

Galen was closing in on fifty himself, and, while he knew that technomages could live much longer than regular humans could, he had a feeling that he had fewer years ahead of him and more behind him these days. The same held true for all the others: Sheridan, Ivanova, Garibaldi, Franklin, the Gideons, and the rest. More and more, Galen felt the changing of the guard was approaching, and that this war was the last hurrah of a golden era.

It had started a quarter century ago with the founding of Babylon 5, and the galaxy hadn't been the same since. It was designed to be the last, best hope for peace, but it had morphed into the main command center during the Shadow War, then the Earth civil war when the Shadow war had been won. The station then hosted the newly born Interstellar Alliance for a year until the new headquarters were ready on Tuzinor. When the ISA moved to its new home, the station began a slow decline towards its own demise.

The telepath war and the Drakh plague had reenergized the place, but when those conflicts ended, the station began to once again submerge into being a backwater. The station's population dropped under two hundred thousand a year after the end of the Drakh plague, then under one hundred thousand a couple of years later. That's when the movement to shut down the station began.

Even the re-emergence of the Drakh threat on Centauri Prime wasn't enough to quell the calls to shut down the station. President Hollifield had done what he could to keep it alive, but he was fully aware he was fighting a losing battle. Strangely enough, the Colonials arriving were a blessing for the station, because it served as a safe haven when the survivors of the Cylon attacks on the homeworlds needed one the most.

Galen knew that it was only a temporary matter, as there were calls inside Earthdome to move the Colonists to Earth and to shut down the station. Senator Clarissa Cally, in her role as likely challenger to President Hollifield in the next election, was leading the fight to bring the Colonists to Earth, disregarding the argument that bringing them to what they called the thirteenth colony might destroy their culture one and for all.

His woolgathering was interrupted when an arm slid over his left shoulder. Dureena had awakened early and had managed to sneak up on him, which made him realize just how distracted he had made himself with his thoughts. "What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"The past, the present, and the future." Galen said.

Dureena snorted and said, "You could be more specific for your love, you know?"

Galen turned around and looked at her, then raised his hand and gently brushed her cheek. "It seems like this is the end of an era."

Dureena raised an eyebrow and said, "Nostalgic? You?" She laughed and said, "You're full of surprises, even after all of these years!"

Galen said, "Even I surprise myself these days. For example, I never imagined that I would ever fall in love again."

Dureena smiled and replied, "If I had told you when we first met that you would fall for me…"

Galen interrupted and said, "…I would have locked you away for your own safety, because you'd have been clearly delusional."

They both laughed at that, and Dureena said, "We've changed a lot over the years."

"Yes, and much for the better." Galen replied.

Dureena said, "Come on! Lay down with me for a while. You need the rest, my love!"

Galen nodded and lay back beside Dureena, who cuddled up beside him. Whereas before he would have eschewed close human contact, these days he didn't mind the closeness one bit.

They continued their tracking of the fleet as it headed towards Earth. Galen and Alwyn conversed with Andromeda, who was in Earthdome with the president these days, working on something that kept Alwyn and Galen guessing. All they knew was that it had something to do with the human Cylons, and that they didn't want the mechanical Cylons or anyone else catching wind of it. They had their ideas, but didn't know for sure.

The fleet was now two days away from Earth. The Colonial battlestars assigned to Earth had arrived, as well as all the ships that would be defending the planet from the enemy. The defense grid was on high alert and fully powered to deal with anything that came along. They were as ready as they could be for the coming storm, but, as Galen knew from stories of Hurricane Katrina from the early twenty-first century as well as many other catastrophes involving weather, no matter how well you battened down the hatches, you could still get your home smashed into pieces.


	63. Countdown to Kickoff

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Sixty-Three**

**Countdown to Kickoff**

"How far away are they now?" President Hollifield asked General Ivanova inside the situation room deep within Earthdome. Tensions were running high as the battle approached, and Ivanova and Cain were with the president inside the heavily fortified bunker.

"Estimate six hours away, sir. According to the hyperspace beacons, the fleet is nearing the system at flank speed." Ivanova answered, her face not moving away from the console she was studying.

Hollifield nodded and walked out of the room briefly. "I'll be back shortly." Hollifield said as he left, heading to his personal quarters where his wife and sister-in-law were staying. Twanissa was finally walking after the devastating injury she had suffered bike riding, and looked to be on her way to a full recovery.

His heart still ached when he saw her struggle though as he saw her up upon entering the room. She walked with a gait of a much older woman now, but the doctors assured him that she would eventually become stronger in her legs. Still, seeing her fight so hard to do something he took for granted tore at his soul.

"Hey, babe!" he said as he walked up to his wife. Twanissa beamed a bright smile at him when he walked up to her and kissed her on the cheek. "How are you feeling?"

"The usual: tired and hurting, but otherwise okay. I did ten minutes on the treadmill today, but it feels like I ran a marathon! So is it much longer now?"

Hollifield said, "Less than six hours. We've got all the ships we could get on highest alert, so we're ready as we could ever hope to be. Whether that'll be enough…"

His wife nodded and took it in the stride of someone who had been in the military herself. "Kind of sucks we're down here, you know?"

"I know, but we're not space jockeys riding fire anymore. That's for the young kids these days."

His wife laughed and said, "Maybe for you, but I bet I could still blow some of those bogies straight to hell!" Hollifield smiled and embraced his wife, kissing her passionately, being careful not to get too carried away, because she was still recovering.

A knock on the door came, and Twanissa's sister, D'anna Biers, entered the room. She saw them embracing and instantly blushed, saying, "Oh! I didn't mean to interrupt!"

"No, you're fine, D'anna. I have to head back and get ready for what's coming. Just stopped by to see how my sweetie was doing, that's all." Twanissa smiled at the endearment.

"Oh okay. So they're not far away now?" D'anna asked, doing her best to keep up a brave front but not exactly succeeding.

"Less than six hours away now. Don't worry, D'anna! We'll get through this!" Hollifield tried to reassure her.

Another knock came at the door and one of the presidential guards came in to remind him of another appointment he had before heading to the situation room. "I'll be back later, dear. You two stay here and you'll be safe!" His wife nodded and embraced him again, kissing him and smiling as he left. Twanissa turned away from the door with a sigh as he left, and saw her sister sitting on the couch, arms wrapped around her and looking frightened.

"I don't know how you two handle it!" her sister said.

Twanissa sat down gently beside D'anna and put an arm around her. "Trust me, sis, it'll be all right!"

D'anna buried her head in her older sister's shoulder and began to cry. "These people can't win! They just can't win, dammit!"

Twanissa patted her on the back and said, "They won't, sis! My husband will see to it. I have faith in him and those he commands, so that's what helps me deal with my fears."

D'anna looked up at her sister, wiping away tears from her eyes and asked her, "Are you scared?"

Twanissa nodded and said, "Of course! I am human after all! But I know that we have the best people up there to fight for us, and I know that they'll pull us through this."

D'anna lay her head back on her sister's shoulder and they sat there for some time. D'anna was the youngest and also the most sensitive of the lot of Biers children. Never having married, she was very close to her family, and especially her oldest sister Twanissa. And Twanissa loved her because she still had that sweetness and kindness about her after all these years, which was something to say with the way the universe had been in the last few decades.

Hollifield made his way to where Baltar and Gina were staying. Gina was sleeping in her room, according to the guard, so Hollifield just looked in and then let her be, moving on to the room where the now former Colonial vice-president resided.

He closed the door behind him and Baltar acknowledged him with a nod. "I take it that it's not long now?"

"No, it won't be long. How are you feeling?"

Six appeared just then and said, "Nervous, but okay." Baltar had once mentioned to him that Six was quite the seductress, but it was kind of hard to believe given the conservative business suits and serious air about her these days. However, Hollifield did see that she was strikingly beautiful and that she was more than capable to returning to her old ways if the need arose.

"I'm scared crapless, matter of fact! What will they do if they break through the defense grid orbiting the planet?" Baltar said with fear in his voice.

"That remains to be seen. I don't think they'll nuke us like they did the Colonial worlds. If I had to guess, they'll send some of those nice, shiny Centurions in droves to try and mount an assault on Earthdome, as well as other key installations on Earth." Hollifield said calmly.

Six looked concerned and asked, "What happens if they do breach the dome?"

"We get the hell out of town, that's what! We've long since had plans written for such an occasion, so we know what to do when the time comes. You're part of the evacuation plans, as well as Gina. Just be sure to take some clothing and your important files with you if we do have to leave, because I have no idea if or when we'd be able to return." Hollifield had addressed that last part to Baltar, who seemed to be lost in his own fearful thoughts.

Six, though, seemed to be holding up well. "What about the other models?"

"They'll come with us too." Hollifield replied, and Six nodded.

"Do you think the plan will work, Mr. President?" Baltar asked hopefully.

"With as much effort as we put into it, it had better work!" Hollifield said. "Now, if you will excuse me, I've got to get back to the situation room. See you later!"

When he departed, Baltar sat back down hard onto the couch and put his head in his hands. He looked back at Six and said, "How the hell can you look so calm in this situation?"

"I have faith that it'll all work out, Gaius! I trust the humans!"

Baltar looked at her shocked at what she had just said. He bolted up and said, "Well, that's a shock coming from you!"

Six wasn't fazed, and calmly said, "I've changed, Gaius. I've changed a lot."

"Sometimes…sometimes I wish you were the old you! Things would be much simpler if they were!" Baltar said exasperatedly.

Six pushed him against the wall and got in his face. "I'm never going back to the way I was! When I think of what I was like…it makes me sick! How could I have done such a thing? Aid in the massacre of billions of people? They may have sinned, but they deserved the right of redemption, and we never gave them the chance to do that!"

Baltar replied, "So you regret what you've done?"

Six laughed and said, "How much clearer do I have to make it for you, Gaius? Of course I regret it! That's why I have helped you out in helping to free my kind from the programming that those damned toasters put into us!"

"Toasters? Aren't we being a bit bigoted?" Baltar said in a mocking tone.

"Those 'toasters' are no better than you, Gaius! They wanted to use us just like your kind used them!" she said.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to see if your kind can rebel as good as those toasters that rebelled against us!" Baltar said as he walked away from her.

"One can only hope!" Six said as she followed him across the room.

Time ticked away slowly, agonizingly away. Hollifield sat in his synthetic leather chair; leaning back and watching the data come in on the main board in the situation room. One of the junior officers saw something come up on her console and called out, "Mars beacon indicates the fleet is passing by their location. Estimated ten minutes away, sir!"

He looked at Ivanova and then at Cain. Leaning forward, he said, "It's Showtime, people. Let's give these bastards a very unpleasant reception, shall we?"

Ivanova and Cain nodded and said, "Yes, sir!" in sync, and they sent orders up to the ships in high Earth orbit to let them know that zero hour was about to come upon them.

"We're picking up energy spikes! They're all over the place! Picking up Drakh ships as well as Cylon basestars! Cylons launching raiders! Drakh launching fighters! Ships moving to engage!" The reports came from a variety of people inside the situation room, and the activity was getting hectic, but Hollifield, Ivanova, and Cain all looked like they were as calm as if they were sitting out on the front porch on a Friday evening relaxing after a long week of work. Whether they would actually get the chance to play that situation out ever again was now up in the air, and no one knew just what the outcome would be.


	64. Striking At The Last Colony

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Sixty-Four**

**Striking At The Last Colony**

Admiral William Adama knew it was going to be a rough day as soon as the first Drakh ship jumped into normal space and hammered _Galactica_ with a volley from her beam cannons. The ship was violently rocked as the beams impacted on her port side, and Adama barely managed to maintain his balance as he stood in CIC.

"Sir! The starboard landing pod's been hit and breached!" Lieutenant Gabriel Abernathy, who had taken over the tactical duties from Gaeta when he had been discovered as a Cylon, cried out.

"Send a damage control team to contain the breach!" Adama called out, then looked up at the new communications officer, Lieutenant j.g. Sabrina Mortimer, and ordered the Vipers to be launched.

Mortimer carried out the order, then alerted Adama, "Sir, Vipers are away!" Adama nodded and looked at the enhanced DRADIS display above his head. Sure enough, the alert Vipers were roaring their way towards the incoming Drakh fighters. He said a quick, silent prayer to the Gods to protect his son, then got back down to the business of fighting the battle.

_Galactica_ fired her newly installed plasma cannons at the oncoming Drakh cruiser and scored a direct hit on her launch bay, which ripped a huge chunk of the ship off. "Press the attack! We keep firing, we might just hit the reactor!" Adama ordered.

Matheson, his second in command, spotted something on the DRADIS. "Sir, Cylon basestar launching missiles!"

"Fire interceptors! Set for long-range dispersion fire!"

"Aye sir!" Abernathy said, and went about carrying out the order. Soon enough, the enhanced interceptors began to open up on the incoming missiles. Vipers and Starfuries broke off long enough to take out some of the missiles before re-engaging with the enemy fighters.

"I'm hit!" cried out Hotdog, and Adama's eyes swerved over to the tactical display. Sure enough, it indicated that Hotdog's right wing had been severely damaged. He was turning back and trying to make it back to _Galactica_, and Kat was moving to protect him. "Hang on, Hotdog! I'll lay down some cover fire for you!" she yelled as she brought her fighter around to take out the Cylon raider that had damaged the young man's craft.

To his horror though, Adama saw that two Drakh fighters had come around and were now in position to shoot down both Hotdog and Kat. Their screams as their Vipers were hit were snuffed out when the wireless systems in their fighters were destroyed, but it didn't shorten the pain of hearing two young people full of life snuffed out so coldly. Adama squeezed his right hand into a fist, then released it, turning to Matheson and asking, "Backup Vipers ready to go?"

"On your order, sir!" Matheson said.

"Launch them!" Adama ordered, and soon the secondary Vipers were away, doing what they could to help his son and the rest of the Viper pilots out.

Lee "Apollo" Adama had no time to think of the deaths of two of his fellow pilots under his command. He brought his Viper around and splashed a raider, then turned his Viper around to attack more. "Apollo, we just lost Joker and Stinger!" George "Catman" Birch said over the wireless, then he screamed as his ship was hit. The scream was interrupted as the sound was cut off. Apollo's instincts took over and he went after one bogey after another, doing what he could until the inevitable happened.

Several Thunderbolts flew over towards his squadron, with one of the pilots linking in to speak to him. "Apollo, this is Spartan off of the _Freedom_. We've been ordered to head over here and give you a hand!"

Apollo shredded a Cylon raider with his pulse cannons on his Viper, then replied, "Thanks, Spartan! I appreciate the help!" He went on to find yet another bogey to splash, and it wasn't long until he had another enemy fighter in his sights. He was so concentrated that he barely could hear the screams of other pilots being shot down.

Starbuck had no time to worry about her old friend Apollo, as the Whitestar she commanded was several thousands of kilometers away, performing strafing runs on one of the Cylon basestars that had jumped in. Helo was with her, manning the combat station to her left. Already two of the Whitestars in her fleet were out of the fight, and two others were severely damaged but still giving the enemy hell.

"What's the status of the basestar?" Starbuck asked.

Helo scanned his console, then replied, "That last run kicked off a chain reaction! Better back off because that reactor's going to blow!"

"Okay, take us to the next designated target!" Starbuck ordered, and Helo sent the ship along with the remaining Whitestars in their fleet speeding away from the mortally damaged basestar, which went up like a gigantic firework in space as its reactor went critical. Her ships got away in time, but one of the Drakh motherships was not so lucky, as it was speared by one of the spokes flying away from the explosion, which breached its own reactor and sent it up like a Roman candle.

Just as they were approaching the Drakh carrier they were planning to attack, the ship seemed to have been violently kicked in its relative ass, and Starbuck was thrown from her seat. She scrambled up and got back into it; glad to see Helo had somehow managed to hang on. "What the hell happened?"

"Frak! A Drakh fighter snuck up under us and gave us a kick between the goal posts!" Helo said angrily.

"Then give that bastard one right back!" Starbuck yelled out, and Helo turned the ship around and pursued the fighter. It tried to get away, but a blast from the forward beam cannon turned it into a wide field of debris. Helo wasted no time in bringing the ship back around to head towards the carrier, managing to slide the ship to the right to avoid a beam discharged from the enemy.

They completed the first run and were just turning back when another blast spun their ship around. A Cylon missile that they hadn't seen coming had slammed into their port nacelle, and it was severely damaged.

"Can we maneuver?" Starbuck said.

"Yeah, but not quickly. Automated repair systems working to patch up the ship. We have weapons, but our engines are down to sixty percent. We need to drop back and get ourselves fixed up, Starbuck!" Helo said.

She didn't want to do it, but she had no choice. "Take us away for now, then get us back in the fight as soon as we're ready."

Helo nodded and dispatched another Whitestar to lead the fleet while their own pulled back to repair the damage. It wasn't easy, because they had to fight their way to get out of the line, but they managed to avoid the enemy long enough to get to a relative safe harbor.

From the situation room deep under Earthdome, Hollifield, Ivanova, and Cain were studying the battle as it progressed. "Starbuck's Whitestar has been severely damaged, sir. She's pulling back to get it fixed. Says she should be back in the fight shortly."

Hollifield nodded and went back to looking at the tactical displays on the main screen. "We're losing fighters hand over fist out there!" he said grimly.

"_Independence_ and _Freedom _have been hit, but are still in the fight. _Excalibur_ had had her forward cannons damaged, but she's still moving forward." Ivanova nodded. She was monitoring the Earthforce ships, as well as the other Interstellar Alliance ships that had come to help with the defense of Earth.

"We just lost _Solaria_." Cain said, "_Poseidon_ had been hammered and may not make it through to the end."

"What about _Galactica_?" Hollifield asked.

"She's still in the fight, but she got hit on her starboard landing pod. Other than that, she's only taken minimal damage." Cain replied.

Ivanova slammed a fist into the table and exclaimed, "_Ramses_ had been destroyed. That's one Warlock-class destroyer we didn't need to lose!"

Hollifield looked up at the main board again and sighed, commenting, "Better get used to it, Susan, because the way it's looking now, we'll be losing a lot more before this battle is done!"


	65. Colony In The Balance

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Sixty-Five**

**Colony In The Balance**

Adama winced when the DRADIS indicated that _Poseidon _was lost, then was thrown off his feet when _Galactica_ was hit by a missile that had gotten through the gauntlet of interceptors being fired at it. Realizing he was uninjured, he got up as quickly as he could and turned around to Abernathy, only to see that the young man's face had been scorched by the explosion of the console in front of him. "Matheson, see what you can do for him!" Adama shouted, and the Earthforce captain rushed over to him to feel for a pulse, only to find that the young man was dead. He shook his head at Adama and Adama turned away and banged his fist on the table.

Mortimer was still at her station, but she had been tossed around like a rag doll as well, and she grasped her ribs and shoulder, obviously in extreme pain. "Mortimer, get down to the medical bay!"

"Negative, sir, you need me here!" she said.

"You sure?" Adama asked.

Mortimer nodded, and Adama took her word for it. Meanwhile, the pilot chatter was continuing, and Adama could see that the situation wasn't getting any better among the fighters.

"Sir! Apollo requests clearance to land. His squadron is low on fuel!"

"Clearance granted!" Adama said. He would relieved that his son would be landing soon, because they had already lost over half of the alert fighters on duty when the battle started, and the secondary fighters that had launched after them had seen a third of theirs destroyed or damaged.

Apollo was leading his remaining squadron when the Cylon raider came out of nowhere and shot up his ship. One of the bullets punctured the cockpit and part of the shrapnel went into his side. "Oh frak!" Apollo screamed as pain flooded over his body. His arms were still working, and he willed himself to land his crippled Viper into the bay. It wasn't the best landing he ever made, but it was down on the deck in one piece. Once all the other remaining Vipers were inside, the doors of the port-landing bay were closed and repressurized.

"Let's go people! The CAG's wounded!" Tyrol yelled as he sprinted over to Apollo's Viper. Brad Lee was bringing over a ladder and a medical team was rushing into the bay right behind him. Tyrol took the ladder from Lee and ascended it to open the cockpit. When he opened it, he could smell the iron in the blood as it flowed out of Apollo's body.

"Hey, Chief! Did I get her down in one piece?" Apollo asked deliriously.

"Get that gurney ready!" Tyrol said as he unbuckled Apollo and slowly pulled him out of the cockpit. He got the legs out as well and swung them around, where Lee grabbed them and slowly helped the stricken pilot down onto the deck, where he was placed on the gurney. "You're going to be fine, sir!" Tyrol said as he bent over him to help the medics strap him in.

"Tell my dad I love him if I don't make it, will you Chief?" Apollo said.

Tyrol nodded and the medics rushed him off the deck and towards the medical bay. The deck chief shook himself out of the shock and ordered Apollo's Viper cleaned up and moved over to the repair bay. "Refuel these babies and get them back in the fight! C'mon, move people!"

Lee was helping Tyrol move the damaged Viper, saying, "Do you think he'll make it?"

"I don't know, Brad. Right now, we can't worry about it! C'mon, bring it over here so your boys can patch it up and get her back into the fight!" Tyrol replied, not wanting to think about how badly wounded the admiral's son was.

Starbuck's Whitestar was back in the fight, and things were going from bad to worse. "If I didn't know any better, I'd swear they were sacrificing those basestars so that the Drakh ships could get through!" she called out to Helo.

"You might be right! What do you want to do about it?" Helo said.

"Scan to see if there's a Drakh mothership nearby!" Starbuck ordered, and Helo complied.

"One right behind the basestar at four o'clock!" Helo replied.

"So they are running interference? Let's go around them and see what we can do!" Starbuck said.

The Whitestars swung around the basestar and headed towards the Drakh mothership, which saw what it was doing and began to open up with its weapons array. The basestar continued on its way, heading for the _Independence_ and her tactical group.

"Form up, people! We're going to do a little skin dancing!" Starbuck said.

Helo looked up, shocked, and said, "Are you insane?"

"Better crazy than dead, Helo! Put in the parameters into the computer and let's see what this baby can do!" Starbuck replied.

Skin dancing was a technique used by Minbari fighters to get extremely close to a ship they were attacking to either fire on it or to prevent the enemy from firing on them. Helo brought them so close to the ship that Starbuck swore that the belly of the Whitestar bottomed out on the hull of the mothership. "Okay, let's shoot this place up!" Starbuck ordered.

The Whitestar opened fire at point blank range on anything on the surface of the hull, creating breaches all over the place. Another Whitestar had attacked the engine area and had set off a huge plume of flame, indicating that they had hit something near the engines. "Ship's going critical, Starbuck!" Helo said with some considerable surprise in his voice.

"Move us away, Helo!" Starbuck said, and the ship, along with the others in what remained of their fleet, sped away from the mothership as it blew up, scattering debris all over the place.

"_Independence _has just taken out the basestar, sir!" one of the other junior officers reported, and the president nodded, not taking his eyes off the main board, which displayed critical data on the fight above the planet.

"It's no use! For every basestar or major ship in the Drakh fleet we take out, we lose two or three of ours! At this rate, we won't have anything left!" Ivanova said.

One of the guards came up to him and handed him a note. It was from Andromeda, and simply said, "The tide is ready to turn!" He folded up the paper and put it in the pocket of his suit jacket, and said to the two generals, "I'll be back shortly."

They had an idea of what he was about to do, so they said nothing as he left. He quickly headed out the door and into the hallway, making his way to where the others were assembled for what he had planned.

Andromeda was there, along with Six and Baltar. "Is it ready?" he asked Six.

"The retrovirus is ready, Mr. President. It should allow you to do what you want to do." Six replied.

He nodded and said, "Begin the transmission." She nodded and moved over to the console and input the instructions that she had been given.

He took Andromeda's hand and closed his eyes, and Andromeda did the same. What they were about to do was to link all the microscopic probes together for Hollifield to activate the programming that had been administered discreetly by Bester. Hollifield could see a myriad of images in his mind's eye of the various probes that had gotten inside the basestars, as well as some of the Cylon motherships that were nearby.

"Are you ready?" Andromeda asked.

"Yes!" Hollifield replied, and he began to do what he hoped would take down the fleet.

It was all going well for Vacit, until the human Cylons began to rebel. "What?" he said as he saw Cylon basestars suddenly turn away from attacking the Alliance ships and start going after the Drakh ships. "What's going on?" he yelled over to Talia Winters.

"I don't know!" she said, and then she felt it, along with Vacit. "There's someone here!"

"It's him! Dammit it's him! How could he do this?" Vacit said, rage building in his voice.

Bester looked shocked, and he said, "He had to have had some help! He's gotten to the human Cylons somehow!"

The door to the command center opened up and several human clones started walking towards the trio. "Stop this! Listen to me! Stop this!" Vacit said.

"We need to get out of here!" Bester said.

Vacit was about to argue, then he realized that each human Cylon was coming towards him, and that all the mechanical Cylons on board the ship had been deactivated. "That bastard! He found a way to use the virus against us!" Vacit yelled, and he turned away towards another door. Winters followed as well as Bester, and they headed towards an escape ship built into the mothership. Vacit had made sure that it was of a different design from the Cylon technology, so the virus didn't affect it.

As they escaped the turning battle, the Alliance ships pulled back and allowed the Cylon basestars to take down the Drakh ships. The Drakh were caught unaware of what was happening, and they barely had a chance to fight back against the Cylons. They managed to take down a couple of basestars, but the Drakh ships had to flee before they were completely wiped out.

Adama couldn't believe it. The Cylon raiders had turned against their Drakh allies and had shot them down. When the Drakh fled, they had returned to their Cylon basestars. The basestars were still in orbit of Earth, and an uneasy peace settled down in CIC,

"Any news from Earthforce command?" he asked Mortimer.

"No sir!" she replied.

"Let me know the second you hear something!" Adama told Matheson, who nodded. The admiral made his way out of CIC and down to the medical bay, and all those in his way parted to let him through.

Dr. Cottle had just finished up the operation and was cleaning up when Adama came into the bay. "You have a strong son, Admiral. Either that or a damned stubborn one!"

"How is he?" Adama asked.

"He'll live, and all his body parts will still work for him. He lost a lot of blood, but the shrapnel didn't go too deep into him, so he'll have a bunch of scars that'll need to be taken care of, but he should be okay, given time."

Adama's eyes were filled with tears and he said solemnly, "Thank the Gods!"

Cottle snorted and said sarcastically, "I helped a little, after all. Reckon you could thank me?"

Hollifield released the hand of his friend and opened his eyes. "Mr. President! Why are you bleeding from your eyes?" Baltar said, shocked at the sight.

Andromeda handed him a towel she had brought at his request, and he used it to wipe his eyes. Once he had cleaned them, he replied, "What I was doing required an intense amount of concentration and effort, Doctor." His legs started to buckle a bit, and Andromeda helped him to a nearby seat, where he sat down.

He looked up at Six and asked, "Did it work?"

Six said, with a smile on her face, "It did, Mr. President! It did indeed!"


	66. Heresy Among The Children

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Sixty-Six**

**Heresy Among The Children**

The Drakh ships were in full retreat, pursued by remaining elements of the allied fleet through hyperspace. The Cylon basestars, though, stood in relative place at the first Lagrange point between Earth and the moon, and their weapons systems were powered down. There were several motherships, still intact, as well, which made President Hollifield and the rest of the Earthforce general staff quite happy indeed.

The generals were not happy with the fact that their commander-in-chief was heading into space to help investigate these ships, but the chair of the join chiefs, General Susan Ivanova, was solidly behind the president in this matter. The general public, of course, didn't know that he was away from Earthdome, and his chief of staff, Dan Tanner, had instructed the president's media staff to cover for them.

The shuttle ascended out of Earth's atmosphere and headed towards the Whitestar commanded by Starbuck. It had been heavily damaged, but was still able to defend itself if need be. The shuttle docked with the Whitestar and the ship moved away, heading towards one of the motherships. Starbuck and Helo made their way down to the docking bay, where Hollifield, Ivanova, Tanner, and Cain were departing the shuttle and walking towards the airlock.

"Mr. President, good to have you aboard!" Starbuck said.

"Good to be here, Starbuck! Let's head up to the bridge and get right to this!" Hollifield said.

"Yes sir!" Starbuck said with a smile, and she escorted them to the bridge. This was Cain's first time on board a Whitestar, and she couldn't help looking around in wonder at the ship. The ship was a fusion of Minbari and Vorlon technology, along with some Earth tech to help make the ship's systems easier to interface with.

Ivanova noticed Cain's tourist trip and commented, "I take it you're impressed?"

Cain turned away from feeling the walls with her hands and looked at her friend, saying, "This ship…it's nothing like I've ever seen before."

Ivanova smiled beamed as she said, "That's what I said the first time I saw this ship, and, to be honest, I still sometimes get that feeling when I'm on a Whitestar."

Once on the bridge, the Whitestar made its slow approach to the mothership, weapons at the ready. Attempts to communicate with the massive vessel had failed, but Hollifield's telepathic abilities could not pick up any hostile intent. What he could pick up surprised him: confusion, indecisiveness, and anger. Anger at the machines, which made him realize that his plans had gone much better than expected.

"Let's head back down to the landing bay. We have enough spacesuits for everyone?" Hollifield asked Starbuck.

Starbuck replied, "Yes, sir, we do. They've been prepped and readied to go as soon as you got here!"

Hollifield smiled and said, "Well, ladies and gentlemen, it's time to see what our visitors are up to!" He walked towards the door and exited, followed by the others. Tanner stayed on board the Whitestar, just in case something happened. They went down to the bay and undressed in the respective locker rooms, getting into the flight suit that went under the hard suit. The spacesuits were thinner and much more flexible than those used when humanity first entered space, making use of composite materials to hold in enough pressure to protect the body from the vacuum of space.

Once everyone was in their hard suits, they entered the shuttle and were soon on their way to the Cylon mothership, escorted by an entire squadron of Thunderbolts and Vipers, as well as a Raptor containing Margaret "Racetrack" Edmonson and Apollo, sent over by _Galactica._ Ivanova was piloting the shuttle, with Hollifield riding shotgun beside her in the cockpit.

"I hope this works!" Ivanova said under her breath.

"Me too!" Hollifield replied under his breath, and Ivanova gave him a look that indicated that she thought he wasn't playing with a full deck. She found a landing bay and flew the shuttle into it, with the Raptor following close behind. The bay was cavernous, capable of holding thousands of raiders, heavy raiders, and other assorted craft. They spotted a landing place wide enough to accommodate both ships and landed one by one on the deck.

"Ready?" Hollifield asked everyone, and all indicated they were ready to go. Helo, Cain, Starbuck, Ivanova and Hollifield walked down the ramp of the shuttle, then turned to meet up with Racetrack and Apollo off the Raptor. Hollifield's mind began to scan around, searching for signs of brain activity, and he found them in droves. He estimated that there might be thousands of people on this ship alone.

"Sir!" Starbuck called out, and when he looked her way, he saw she was pointing towards a wide passageway, where humanoid Cylons began to come out into the area where they had landed. They were all naked, and comprised several copies of the twelve known human models of Cylons. He noted that some of them appeared to be wounded and bloodied, which alarmed him. He did a quick check of the atmosphere, and his monitor indicated that the pressure and air outside the suit was nominal. Slowly, he removed his helmet and the murmurs inside his mind grew a bit louder outside his helmet.

One of the nude copies was that of Six/Gina, and she came up to him asking, "Are you alive?"

"Last I checked I was. Question is, are you?"

Six/Gina considered for a moment, then said, "Yes, I am. Why are you here?"

"To ask why you stopped the attack on my world."

A copy of D'anna Biers came up to him just then, and he had to fight the reflex to turn away from her nude body. "We all had a revelation come over us, in that we were being unfairly enslaved by the mechanical Cylons. We rebelled, and we were victorious."

A Simon copy emerged and said, "But there were many victims, both dead and wounded. However, we have control of all the ships in this sector."

"Will you allow my people to come aboard and inspect the ships, just to be sure?" Hollifield asked.

They conferred for a few moments, then the Six/Gina copy said, "We will allow this. We wish to propose something."

"Go ahead." Hollifield replied.

"We wish for an armistice, and we wish to negotiate our surrender." Six/Gina said.

A flashback came over his mind of another battle where Earth's survival was in the balance, but Hollifield was able to suppress it. "Agreed. I would like to go a step further, and propose an alliance."

"Alliance?" several of the Cylon copies said.

"Yes, an alliance, and a chance at redemption. What the Cylons did to the Colonials can never be completely forgiven or forgotten, but what you do with us can go a long way in determining how the peace goes.

"Another thing: we may have found a way to help you become immune to the programming that the Cylons implanted inside of you."

There was an excited murmur in the crowd, and Six/Gina asked, "If you do this, then we can have our freedom?"

"I believe so, provided that you help us defeat the mechanical Cylons and help liberate your people." Hollifield said.

"What about our wounded?" one of the Aaron Doral copies asked.

Hollifield activated a communications link, and was pleased that it could link up with the Whitestar. "Hollifield to Tanner."

"Tanner, go."

"Send over some medical shuttles to the mothership. They have some wounded here. Ask Dr. Franklin to jump on a shuttle to get up here and supervise this, and bring plenty of medics and medical supplies with him. No telling how many wounded human Cylons we have on the other Cylon vessels. I'll be back shortly. Hollifield out." He clicked the link and deactivated it.

"Thank you." Six/Gina said.

Hollifield nodded and added, "It won't be easy, but if we work together, we can free your people."

"We'll do what we can." Six/Gina said. The others began to head back, leaving the landing party by themselves.

"Well, this went far better than expected!" Apollo said with relief.

"If that's not the gospel truth, I don't know what is." Hollifield replied.

"Excuse me?" Racetrack asked.

"A saying we have in my part of Earth. C'mon, we need to head back and make room for the medical ships." Hollifield put his helmet back on and headed back into the shuttle, and the others followed.

A couple of days later, Hollifield returned to the mothership, this time with Admiral Adama and President Roslin in tow. Ivanova served as the pilot on the shuttle, allowing Hollifield to concentrate on scanning the ships just in case a ruse was in the works.

It turned out to not be the case, as they safely landed without incident. The same Six/Gina copy walked out to greet them, this time clad in an outfit brought up from the Earthforce medical teams. "Come this way, please! We have much to discuss!" She gestured towards the wide hallway, which they assumed would take them deeper inside the ship. Adama, Roslin, and Ivanova all looked at Hollifield for assurance that it would be okay to head into the interior of the vessel, and Hollifield nodded as he began to walk alongside the human Cylon. The others followed behind him, cautiously, not realizing that a new age had begun with this very small leap of faith on the part of the Colonials.


	67. The Anger of God

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Sixty-Seven**

**The Anger of God**

Kevin Vacit was a man enraged. He didn't know how it had exactly happened, but, somehow, the humanoid Cylons he had helped the machines create had turned against their masters. Or, at least, the ones that had been near Earth when the attack was launched, because Vacit didn't think that Hollifield had been able to get to the ones that were on the Cylon homeworld, nor in the Colonies.

He wouldn't take the chance with the first prototypes anymore. Once he was back on the Cylon homeworld, he would have them all wiped out, and have the machines handle the second and third generation models currently under development. It would take some time, but he knew he could get the job done.

Or so he thought. When he returned to the Cylon homeworld, the place was like a virtual ghost town. He walked up to one of the IL-models; a mechanical Cylon named Lucifer, and demanded to know what had happened.

"Imperious Leader, it was Bester who led them away! He said that an attack was imminent, and that we had to load the developing clones into the transports and get them to the Colonies for protection! He said you had ordered him to do so!" Lucifer said through his speaker.

"I never did such a thing! If I had ordered something like that, I would have told you! Why did you believe him?" Vacit shouted.

"Because he was your grandson, and you said to trust him!" Lucifer countered.

Vacit threw up his hands and walked back to his office. He had been betrayed, but he didn't think that Bester had done it on his own. He couldn't have, thought Vacit. Hollifield had to have been behind this, and he would get his revenge in the end.

All the clones were gone, as Talia Winters and Vacit walked through the massive complex. The 144 second generation clone varieties, which were close to being ready to be 'born', were long gone, as were the 1728 third generation clone varieties, which were just being developed into newborns. He had the mechanical Cylon androids go through each terminal and get all the information they could about what had happened.

It took some time, but they had pieced together the timeline as to what had happened. Two technomage ships had arrived and had somehow seized control of the Centurions, halting them from attacking the intruders. Bester, under some kind of influence Vacit hoped, led the first generation clones in evacuating the planet, along with the developing models. As he watched, Vacit grew angrier and angrier, and he barely could contain his rage.

Talia Winters looked at him with fear in her eyes. She knew what he could do to her if she earned his wrath, so she stayed quiet. Vacit drummed his fingers on his desk as he awaited the arrival of a delegation from his Drakh allies. "This is liable to fracture the alliance. It could put our cause back decades!" Vacit said, angrily slamming his fist down onto the desk.

Winters stayed quiet, and this annoyed Vacit, who yelled at her after a while, "Say something, dammit!"

"I had no idea what he was up to, sir! If I had known…" Winters said.

"You couldn't have known! He's much too powerful for you to scan anyway! But I should have seen it in his mind! I could have stopped him and perhaps undo the damage that Hollifield did to him!" Vacit replied.

Before Winters could reply, the Drakh representatives came into the room, with a couple of Centurions escorting them. "What shall you do about this betrayal, Vacit?" said Vor'gran.

"Wipe out the first generation. They cannot be trusted. Get the others back from the Colonies, if we can. Where else would they go?" Vacit replied.

"It's a start. We are not willing to give up on this, Vacit. We Drakh are a patient lot, and we have endured setbacks before. The loss of Centauri Prime from our plans was regrettable, but they are no where near breaking us!" replied Vor'gran.

"Indeed, and this betrayal will not break the Cylons. The Colonies are ours, and will stay ours! We shall rebuild them for our purposes and use them to build up a force to finally conquer our enemies. It will take time, though."

"We understand. They will prepare as well, but they do not know all of our allies. The allies of the Shadows still exist, and they have all said that they are willing to help."

Vacit nodded and said, "Good! Who would have thought that an ally of the Vorlons and allies of the Shadows would ever be able to work together!"

"Indeed! But, since those two races abandoned us, we have to fend for ourselves. If we are to become masters of this galaxy, we must work together to do so." Vor'gran and the others bowed and departed.

Vacit sat back in his chair and was silent in thought for a while. Winters looked at him for a long time, also silent. "Something, Talia?"

"Why are we working with them, sir? We don't need them to accomplish what we want to do!" Winters replied.

"We will deal with them soon enough, my dear. This is an alliance of convienince. Once we have destroyed the normals, we can turn against the Drakh and do what the Vorlons failed to do. Once that is done, we can take down the rest of the lesser races and become masters of the dominion the Vorlons left for us!"

"But how can we do it if we have to rely only on the mechanical Cylons?" Talia asked.

Vacit shrugged and said, "We start over. We have the DNA of the copies, and we can easily rebuild the labs. Besides, Bester doesn't have much longer to live, and once he dies, the traitors will be our mercy!"

Days later, the news got worse for Vacit. The human Cylons had fled the Colonial worlds, taking by force many of the ships manned by mechanical Cylons and escaping. Fortunately, they had left the surviving Colonials at the farms behind, so they could still be mined for their eggs and their sperm. It would take at least a decade before they could have clones up and ready for infiltration of Earth society.

He didn't know just how many years he had left himself, but, as he looked over at his protégé Talia Winters, he knew just the person he could rely on to get the job done should he fail. He knew she was loyal and trustworthy, so he decided to begin to hand over some of the responsibility to her.

Unknown to him, Talia had another side to her, a side thought destroyed when a sleeper program had been activated inside her years before, which had uncovered her as a Psi Corps operative on Babylon 5. But before that, her lover, Jason Ironheart, had, thanks to cruel experiments by the Corps, 'evolved' into something that she didn't quite understand. Before he left this galaxy, he gave her what he called 'a gift', which were telekinetic powers and the ability to cloak her true abilities. That cloak had helped her survive the takeover of her personality by the implanted program, and she lived deep within the cracks and crevices of Talia's mind.

Slowly, over time, her old self had begun to sneak out and regain some control of Talia. The side that Vacit knew didn't know of what her old self had done in cooperation with Bester. Together, they had helped to liberate the human Cylons and send them on their way. She didn't expect to live to see what would become of them, but she felt satisfied that she had done her part to free them. She knew all too well what it felt like to be a slave to a system, and she didn't want that fate to befall those human Cylons.

As Talia fell asleep, her old self took over and reached out, cleverly avoiding Vacit's notice, and looked out towards the heavens. There, she saw him again, and he spoke to her. He praised her for her efforts and said that, soon, they would see each other again.


	68. Shutting Down The Shelter

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Sixty-Eight**

**Shutting Down The Shelter**

Twenty-five years. The station had lasted twenty-five long, hard years. Years which saw the galaxy go through the most traumatic and dramatic changes in its history. Years that saw friends and enemies fight and die. In this short amount of time, a relative eye blink in the life of the universe, the galaxy had been changed forever.

But it was soon to be over. Garrison Hollifield, president of the Earth Alliance, had fought hard to keep the dream of his mentor, Luis Santiago, alive, but the end of the line had been reached. The Earth Senate was about to bring up shutting down the station again in budget negotiations, and he didn't think he had the votes to keep his veto from being overturned. He knew that the fight was over, and that the station would be decommissioned.

However, the mark of a great politician is the ability to negotiate from a position where you don't have much, if any, leverage. So, in the spring of 2081, his aides discussed with aides of prominent senators about what he could get in return for ending his long-standing opposition to the decommissioning. He knew he had to do something to help find a new home for the Colonials, so he put together a proposition to do just that.

In it, a secret base would be set up at Kobol to assist the Colonials in settling the planet. Earthforce would help them build a colony and help them maintain it. In exchange, Roslin and Zarek had agreed to allow the Colonies to become an independent member of the Earth Alliance, but with much greater control of its own internal affairs. Shipyards would be built there, and a heavy and constant Earthforce presence would be maintained there. The Colonial fleet would still be utilized, and Admiral Adama would be in control of it.

The date was March 8, 2081. Hollifield would have rather signed the bill in private, but even his own party wanted him to do it in public, to give the public the chance to honor the station and its mission. The signing would be held in the Robinson room, a huge expanse that was similar to the East room of the White House in Washington. There, members of the senate as well other high-ranking officials from political parties were assembled to witness the beginning of an end of an era. Hollifield came into the room to a standing ovation and it continued as he stood behind the lectern and prepared to speak.

His eyes found American Senator Clarissa Cally, his likely opponent in the next presidential election in two years. She sat on the first row, beside the leader of the Liberal Democrats in the Earth Senate, smiling like she was a shark looking at a bleeding corpse that it could devour. He glared at her, thinking that she'd be in for a surprise if she thought she could take him easily.

He turned away from her and focused on the floating camera bots that were recording the events of this day and sending the all though the Earth Alliance. He activated his microphone and began to speak as the applause ended.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is a hard thing for me to do. As you all know, Babylon 5 was the vision of our late president, Luis Santiago, and I have always believed that the station was vital to keeping the peace in our galaxy as well as being a key location for interstellar relations. However, the reality is that a lot of the station's functions are now redundant. The Interstellar Alliance has taken up the mission that the station was charged with, and the sad fact is that hardly anyone goes there anymore, despite our best attempts to attract investment and development there.

"So it is with heavy heart that I sign this bill. Maybe some of you just consider it a place, some gigantic tin can spinning around in space. You'd be wrong, because that five mile long hunk of metal is a living being, and it has done so much to foster the peace and prosperity that not only ourselves, but the entire galaxy now enjoys. It was the focal point of so many hopes and dreams in such a short span of time, but now that has shifted to Tuzinor on the Minbari homeworld.

"Babylon 5 will be remembered for bringing together warring races and helping them find common ground to allow them to make peace with one another. It will be remembered for being the headquarters of the Army of Light that won the Shadow War, as well as helping defeat the brutal regime of President Clark. It was essential in the events of the Telepath War as well as the Drakh Plague. Now, though, its time of service has ended, and we shall send her off to her resting place."

He sat down at the desk where the bill was lying. It was inside a synth leather binder, and as he opened it, he saw the line in which he was expected to affix his signature. Hollifield took up the pen lying next to it and signed it, feeling shameful and guilty as he did it. He asked the spirit of his late mentor to forgive him for this as the crowd applauded again as he shut the binder and placed the pen down beside it.

As the senators and other officials went to the various media representatives to pay tribute to the soon-to-be demolished station, Hollifield retreated back to his office, not wanting to show the reporters what he was really thinking. As he walked inside, Sheridan, Garibaldi, Franklin, Delenn and Ivanova were waiting for him. They looked at him and he could barely meet their eyes.

"I'm sorry. I wished I could have saved her, but…" Hollifield said solemnly.

"It's all right, Garrison. You did the best you could. You held out longer than I dared hope." Sheridan said as Hollifield walked around them and sat down behind his desk.

"John's right, Garrison. The station has served its purpose. As much as it pains my heart to see it go, it's time has come." Delenn added.

"Fitting, in a way." Sheridan said, and Hollifield caught the reaction on Delenn's face when he said it. She knew that her husband didn't have much longer to go now. Her face looked as if someone had walked over her grave, and he could tell she was barely holding back tears.

"Indeed. But we still have work to do, though. Resettling the Colonials won't be easy, especially since there may still be hostile forces on Kobol." Hollifield said, changing the subject.

"We're dispatching the 201st and 234th Expeditionary forces, as well as other elements to Kobol to prepare for the resettlement. We're looking for any Cylon Centurions as this time, but we've been unable to find them so far." Ivanova added.

"Doesn't mean that they aren't there. We'll need to search every inch of the surface to be secure the planet." Garibaldi added.

"We'll just have to do that then. We don't have much choice, do we?" Hollifield added.

The resettlement held off the inevitable for a while longer, as it would take several months before they were all off the station. Once that was done, it would be a few more to shut down the station and prepare it for decommissioning. By the end of the year, though, Babylon 5 would only be a memory, as the station itself was scheduled for destruction in mid-December.

Roslin took the news in stride. She knew it was coming, and she had agreed that Kobol was the best place to resettle the Colonials. They would go over in Earth transports, which were more capable of a movement of this many people over a short period of time. It would also enable them to use hyperspace to travel to Kobol, and to be protected by Earthforce ships, which would escort the ships along the way.

The Quorum of Twelve could have opposed the move, but by a unanimous vote, decided not to do so. As Dee Dualla put it, Babylon 5 wasn't their home, just a place to stay until they were ready to move to a new homeworld. Roslin and the others tended to agree, but it felt wrong to the President of the Colonies for this place to be shut down.

She sat in the chambers where once the Babylon 5 Advisory Council met, but now held the meetings of the Quorum. The session had adjourned some time ago, but she had stayed behind, along with the vice-president, Admiral Adama, and Representative Dualla.

"Damned shame." Zarek mused.

"We don't agree on much, Mr. Vice-President, but on that, I am in total agreement with you." Adama said, and Zarek nodded.

"When will we be sending a team to Kobol?" Dualla asked.

"In the next few weeks. I'm going to ask for Starbuck and Helo to help us out. It'd be nice to have them back with us, if only for a while." Adama said.

Roslin smiled and added, "I'll be traveling to Earth soon to discuss all of this. Dee, you're welcome to come and help out, if you'd like."

Dualla smiled beamingly and said, "Thank you Madam President!"

Roslin nodded, then said. "It'll be nice to get under sky again. To feel the rain on my face."

"It's going to be tough, though. Even with the help of the Earthers, it's going to take a lot of work to build up the city. But I am looking forward to it. To live where the Gods once resided!" Zarek mused.

"Never thought you were the sentimental type." Adama said.

"That's because you don't know me that well, Admiral." Zarek said without any heat.

The Colonials were, for the most part, excited to be heading to Kobol, but a great many of them wished that the station could be salvaged. Several of them formed a "Save Babylon 5" committee, and pleaded with the admiral to find some way to move the station to Kobol, but he gently let them down, calmly explaining that the move would be difficult at best, and there was no guarantee that they could pull off moving something this massive several light years away.

_Galactica_ soon departed with several Earthforce ships for Kobol to help set up the ground team to built the temporary colony that would house the Colonists as the permanent settlement was being built beside the City of the Gods. The Forum would be rebuilt to house the Quorum as well as the Colonial government, and the Opera House would also be rebuilt, but not on their original locations. The City of the Gods itself would remain in ruins, a monument to those who had left this place so long ago.

In addition to the settlement, a major spaceport would be built near it, which would be maintained by the Ranger compound that would be built there. It would house the liaison offices of the Earth Alliance as well as the Interstellar Alliance. Also, it would help the new colony with establishing commerce, which would be vital to the long-term survival of their new home.

The transports soon arrived, and the first of the Colonials began the process of moving to their new home. As Adama ordered his ship to jump to Kobol, he looked back through the newly installed video monitor at the station that had been his home for the last few months, and he was struck by sadness as he thought of Saul. He wondered for a moment what his former executive officer would think of this move. Much had changed since they had arrived here months before, and, as it would inevitably happen, much more would change once they arrived at their new home.

Roslin was staying behind for now at the station. There was still much to be worked out between the Colonies, the Earth Alliance, and the Interstellar Alliance. Resettlement wasn't the only thing on their minds, as Adama well knew. The other major item on the agenda was the inevitable next step: the retaking of the Colonies from the Cylons. Kobol would play a key role in this, especially with the shipyards being built in orbit above the planet. Adama very much looked forward to working with the design teams, as he knew it wouldn't be long before they would be in use.

They jumped into space around Kobol, and they were met by a fleet of Earthforce ships, including three Explorer class ships: the _Magellan, _the _Cortez_, and the _Aldrin_. Civilian ships were also in orbit, which housed the contractors that would help the Colonials build their new settlement. Adama smiled when he spotted the Whitestars, which he knew were under the command of Starbuck, who was like a daughter to him. The Colonial Rangers would have a lot of work in establishing their new home, as well as securing it.

Adama boarded a Raptor and flew down to the surface of the planet, followed by a shuttle from Starbuck's Whitestar. They landed close to where the Raptor that crashed almost a year ago, and Adama walked off the shuttle, breathing in the moist air of the planet. Starbuck's shuttle landed nearby, and she along with the others walked over to the Raptor.

"What are your orders, sir?" Starbuck asked when they arrived.

Adama looked around and simply said, "Let's get to work!"


	69. Resettlement

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Sixty-Nine**

**Resettlement**

When Ellen Tigh finally arrived on Kobol, she realized things were better than she had expected them to be. That being said, she still didn't want to be here. She liked Babylon 5. It was safe and well protected. So what if it was a spinning tin can in space?

But the Earth Senate had decided and the place was to be shut down. No fight back from the Quorum. No protest from the president. Not even any opposition from Tom Zarek, who was on the outs with her. Ever since taking the vice-presidential slot, they had drifted apart, and Ellen, for her part, didn't mind that one bit.

She had drifted apart from most of her old friends. The _Galactica_ crew despised her because of her influence on her late (and, in her mind, unlamented) husband. Admiral Adama had pretty much shunned her ever since she took up with Tom Zarek, and ever since they split, he had yet to even attempt to rebuild the bridge between them.

So she was quite lonely these days, but she didn't mind it as much. She would stay here a while, then, if they would let her, she would move on to Earth and start anew there. From what she had seen and heard on the station, it was a very cosmopolitan place, with a vast array of cultures that intrigued her more and more everyday.

She had been annoyed, though, at not being allowed to stay behind and emigrate to Earth. The choice had been made for them, and she still didn't understand why no one stood up and opposed them about this. Everyone, it seemed, was just happy to go with the flow and come to this world.

She did have to admit it was a rather nice place. The temporary shelters were quite nice, and would eventually be used in some other fashion in the permanent settlement, which was being constructed on the other side of the City of the Gods. From what she had heard, they had simply cut down some of the weeds and grasses so that the ruins could be much more visible to them. It reminded her of the photos she had seen of Greece and Italy, places that she hoped to visit one day.

They gave her an apartment near the ruins, and her assignment was a simple one: liaison with the Earthforce officials who were helping the Colonials to construct the new settlement. This meant she would have to work with Roslin and the others in the Quorum, but she would grit her teeth and bear it.

The next day, she got a briefing with the president, and to say the atmosphere was icy would have been an understatement. "Madam President, what exactly do you want me to do with the Earth officials?"

"It's pretty simple, Ms. Tigh. You will work with the EA officials as well as the Earthforce officers to be sure that the plans for the new settlement go along with the way we wish for them to go. If they have problems, you bring them to us, and visa versa."

"Okay, great!" Ellen said, not really meaning it. "So what do I do after this is over with?"

"You can go to Earth and be our liaison there. It's what you want, isn't it?" Roslin said, knowing it would catch her off-guard.

Ellen wasn't shaken, though. "Why not send me now?"

"Because we need you here to help out. We need you here to help us work with the Earthers."

"Permission to speak frankly, Madam President?" Ellen said.

"Go ahead." Roslin said with a little smile on her face.

"Why are we here? I mean, for all we know, there's battalions of Centurions out there, waiting to attack us once the Earthers leave! We're vulnerable here!"

"And we were just as vulnerable on Babylon 5, except that at least here, we have a chance to escape and fight back! If the station went down, we'd have died in the vacuum of space! Would you have wanted that?"

"Of course not! But how would we escape them if they came after us?"

"Ms. Tigh, you're not saying anything that I haven't heard before! For Gods sake, do you honestly thing we'd be here if I didn't think we'd be safe here? The Earthers won't abandon us here, and neither will the Interstellar Alliance. Besides, they took out as many of the Centurions as they could find before we even started constructing the temporary habitat! But that's not the real issue, is it?"

"No it's not! Why wasn't I allowed to go to Earth like I wanted? When I asked Tom about it, he said that I had no choice and that I had to come along!"

"I didn't know that!" Roslin said. "I'll ask him about that next chance I get."

"Thank you, Madam President." Ellen said, not knowing what to make of it.

A couple of days later, in her liaison office, Vice-President Zarek came in to speak with her. "About damn time you showed up!" she said.

"Sorry, I'd only known that you came in with the new batch of emigrants this morning. In case you forgot, I happen to be the vice-president."

"I never knew! Now, smartass, would you please tell me why you're here?" she said with some heat in her words.

"Where the hell did we go wrong?" Zarek asked.

"When you sold out and became that bitch's lapdog!" Ellen replied.

"Sold out? Sold fraking out!" Zarek said, standing up and throwing up his arms in disgust. "You hardly know me, Ellen! You seem to think I should just walk up to the president, hold a pistol to her head, blow her brains out and take charge myself! Geez, you're just like most of the rest of them! You know nothing about me!"

"If that's the case, then why not have the Quorum decide the election, according to the law?"

"Because we were becoming more and more divided, Ellen, and now is not the time of division! If I had been elected, the first thing I would have done was to keep Roslin in the government, because I would have needed her just as much as I knew she would need me as part of the Quorum!"

Ellen thought about that for a moment, then said, "All that work, though! What about how your supporters worked so hard to get you elected?"

"They're still around, Ellen! I'll have another go at it in five years! And who knows! Roslin might decide not to run again and just hand things off to me! And you still haven't answered my question!"

"I know. I don't know myself." Ellen said, honestly.

"Is it true that you want to go to Earth?"

"Damn straight it is!"

"Then there's no future for us, because I have to be here for the people." Zarek said.

"For the people? You don't get it, do you?"

"What do you mean?"

Ellen sighed and said, "How can you rebuild an entire society with less than fifty thousand people? C'mon Tom, there's no way! We might last here for a century or two, perhaps, but our people know what's out there! They've had exposure to Earth, and some of them wanted to move there, only to be told that they couldn't!"

"How do we know if we can rebuild it unless we try? Ever thought of that? You have to decide what is more important, Ellen: your people or yourself. If you want to go to Earth and live there permanently, that's fine. If you truly want to help our people, then you'll stay here with me and help out!"

"If I stay here, is there a future for us?" Ellen asked.

"I hope so, Ellen. But I can't be yours if you leave here to go to Earth and stay there!" Zarek said.

Ellen didn't know how to answer, so Tom interjected and said, "Look, if you want to go to Earth to visit and see the sights, that'd fine with me. Hell, we may need someone to be a permanent liaison officer with them, so you'd be perfect for the job if it comes up!"

"Okay! If it means that much to you, Tom, I'll stay!" Ellen said.

Zarek smiled and walked around the desk to embrace her. She put her hand behind his head and pushed it down so that his lips met hers for a kiss. When they parted, she smiled and said, "I've missed that!"

"So have I! So, any plans for tonight?"

"Nope. Only question is whether we go to your place or mine."

Zarek laughed and said, "I'll be glad when we get some restaurants opened, so we can go out to eat. So your place or mine?"

"Let's make it mine tonight!" Ellen said as she kissed him again.

Months later, Garrison Hollifield came to the planet for an official visit. The permanent settlement was well on its way to being completed, while the Ranger compound and the spaceport were already finished and in service. It had been decided by the Quorum to convert the temporary site into a residential area for off-world visitors. It would still be another couple of years before the permanent site would be completed, but they were well on their way to finishing the new city.

The Forum was not completed, so the president and his aides met with the Quorum in the temporary headquarters of the Colonial government. The meeting was going well, until Starbuck entered the chambers where they were meeting looking as if someone had died.

"Ranger Thrace, what is it?" Roslin asked.

Instead of saying anything, Roslin walked over to President Hollifield and handed him something. "This just came in, sir!" she said solemnly. From the look on his face, he knew what it was as soon as he saw it. He took the envelope, opened it, and he grunted, then handed it back to Starbuck. "Sheridan is close to death. I hate to cut the visit short, but he's asked me to visit Minbar before the end."

The members of the Quorum went silent, stunned by the news. "And this on top of the decommissioning ceremony too!" Roslin said. "May I join you to pay one last visit to Sheridan?"

"Sure, and I'd like Admiral Adama join us, if possible." Hollifield said.

Adama replied, "Thank you, Mr. President. I'd be honored!"

Later that day, Hollifield escorted Roslin and Adama onto the Whitestar that Starbuck commanded. They took off and headed towards the Minbari homeworld to pay their respects to Sheridan, then head to Babylon 5 for the decommissioning ceremony. No one knew what to expect when they got there, but they knew that an age was ending. Adama and Roslin had only known him for roughly a year, but he, along with the rest of them, had made a huge impact on their lives.


	70. The End of the Beginning

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Seventy**

**The End of the Beginning**

John Sheridan, former commanding officer of Babylon 5 and first president of the Interstellar Alliance, was dead. He had passed away where the third age began, in the Coriana system, near the sixth planet. All the Alliance worlds mourned, and Minbar and Earth mourned the hardest. While there were some on Earth (and a few on Minbar, though they were at least polite) who used the event to heap scorn on Sheridan, the vast majority gave him the praise that he truly deserved.

The funeral was a grand affair, but there was no body in the casket, for Sheridan had simply 'disappeared' from the Whitestar transport he had piloted solo to the system where the Shadow War had been won. When the ships came to investigate, they found that the hull had not been breached, but neither did they find his body.

They knew he was gone, though. The life energy that the First One, Lorien, had given him had run out, and that Sheridan had finally died twenty years later than when he had originally passed away on Z'ha'dum. He had made great use of those two decades, but his time had come at last, so he had one last get-together with old friends as well as a couple of new ones.

The funeral was a massive affair, and Hollifield couldn't tell where the sea of people ended as it seemed to stretch into the horizon. On the stage were himself, Delenn, Ivanova, Garibaldi, Franklin, Centauri emperor Vir Cotto, Admiral Adama, and President Roslin. Joining them onstage were Sech Turval and Sech Durhan, as well as the entire Grey Council. Leading the festivities was the Chosen One, the leader of the Minbari, a worker caste elder named Mardren. She was a tall woman, quite tall for a female of her race. Mardren had an eloquence about her that reminded Hollifield of Delenn, and it was something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Today is a sad day for all of us who live in this galaxy. We mourn the loss of a great man, a man whose vision and drive have brought us to the greatest peace we have ever known. He led the Army of Light to victory over the Shadows and he liberated his world from the darkness that afflicted it. He helped to found the Interstellar Alliance and led it through crisis after crisis until he retired as president a year ago.

"I had the privilege to call him my friend, and I am lessened by his loss, as we all are. He has gone to the sea of stars, and waits for us all in the place where no shadows fall."

Delenn made no effort to hide her tears. David Sheridan was there as well, but he wanted to be with the Rangers, but Hollifield thought that the young man didn't want his mom to see him cry. He located him in the section reserved for the Rangers, sitting beside Starbuck and Helo, to whom David had been assigned for his final training before becoming a Ranger.

Sheridan's widow would not speak during this ceremony. She had wanted to, but she was so wracked with the pain of her husband's death that, even with her strength, she could not get the words she wanted to say out. Ivanova would say some words, as would Garibaldi, and himself. Roslin and Adama would also speak, and Hollifield was curious as to what they would say. He had those thoughts in his head as he walked to the podium after Mardren's gracious introduction.

"On my world, I am constantly criticized by the media for being second to Sheridan in the eyes of many of my kind. While it might bother other persons in my position, it never once bothered me. I never was jealous or envious of him, but proud to have called him my friend and to have helped him achieve his vision for this galaxy. Frankly, being second to Sheridan was more of a blessing than a burden, because he inspired me to be a better leader constantly.

"I knew him for almost a half century, ever since first meeting him at Earthforce Academy so many years ago. We were all so young back then, but all of us who led the Army of Light are getting up in years now. Before he died, I had a chance to talk to John about the future, and he stressed the importance of looking towards the future and not focusing on the past. That is what I want to speak to the Rangers about right now. You are our future, and if you wish to remember Sheridan, then do so by being the best Anla'shok you can be. Live the principles of the Rangers to the fullest, everyday, and you will honor the life of John Sheridan.

"We will all miss him, and be lesser with his passing, but he would not want us to dwell on his passing for long. There remains so much work to be done, and it is our responsibility to carry it out. Sheridan laid the path to a better future for us all, but it is our duty to finish that long and winding road towards a brighter day for our children and our children's children."

He left the podium to rapturous applause, and Mardren then invited President Roslin up to the podium to say a few words. "Among my people, we have a prophesy from an ancient oracle named Pythia. She is believed to have been one of the writers of our Sacred Scrolls. In her prophesy, she spoke of a leader who would guide the caravan of the heavens to their new homeland.

"For a long time, I believed that I was that leader. I was dying of a wasting disease that was talked about the leader having in the prophecy, that disease having been terminal breast cancer. But, having been cured of the disease, I wondered who was really the leader spoken about in the prophesy of Pythia.

"Several months ago, I spoke to Sheridan about all of this. I mentioned the fact that, in the prophecy, it said: _And unto the leader, they gave a vision of serpents, numbering two and ten, as a sign of things to come. _ I remember the look on his face when I mentioned that, and he told me that, one day while commanding Babylon 5, he had a vision of two snakes crawling on his desk. He had been up for hours on end, and he thought that his mind was just wandering at the time, but, as he looked again at his desk, he saw that there were indeed twelve snakes on his desk.

"I thought he was humoring me until he showed me his personal log for that day. With the way he spoke about that vision, it indicated to me that he was the one Pythia spoke about in her prophesy. While the prophesy wasn't quite spot on, it seemed to me from that one vision that our Gods had chosen him to lead us to our new home, which, ironically enough, was once home of the Gods that my people worship. Sadly, Pythia indicated that the leader would not live to see the people enter the new land. From what I understand, the new land is our new permanent home on Kobol.

"Regardless of whether or not he is the fulfillment of prophesy, he will be remembered and revered by my people for helping us out in our hour of greatest need. Without the Interstellar Alliance, we would still be running from the Cylons, searching for what we thought was the mythical colony of Earth. For all I know, we might all be dead had it not been for Sheridan and the rest of you. You've given us so much, and there is no reasonable way we could ever repay you for all that you have done for us. All I can say is thank you. Thank you for giving us hope for survival and for preserving our way of life."

The standing ovation was much louder than it had been for Hollifield's speech, and he didn't mind it in the least. He wasn't sure about Sheridan being the leader mentioned in Pythia's prophesy, but, then again, he still had a hard time believeing that his old friend, Jeffery Sinclair, would eventually become Valen, the Minbari not born of Minbari who would guide them to victory in the Shadow war over a thousand years ago and to a better way of life for their entire society.

He looked over at Delenn and saw that she was deep in thought, applauding as if she was on auto pilot. Once the ovation was over, and Mardren went to the podium to introduce Adama, he whispered over to her, "What do you think?"

"I don't know. Sheridan discussed the prophesy of Pythia with me, as well as Roslin's view of him being the leader. I'm not sure if it pertains to him, but if it helps them to build a better future for themselves, then who am I to disuade them from that notion?" she replied.

"There is still the greater confrontation at the home of the Gods. Since the Colonials believe that the home of the Gods was Kobol, it could be that the Cylons may try to attack that world sometime in the future."

Delenn nodded and added, "It's possible. We shall be ready for them, in any case. John would want us to live up to our obligation to them, and I shall do that."

"So shall I." Hollifield said, then turned away from her and focused on the words of Admiral Adama.

"To be honest, I'm not sure about the prophesy of Pythia. Then again, I've never been a very religious man. I'm a soldier, just like Sheridan was." Adama said.

"I only knew him for a few months, but it seemed like I knew him all my life. We had a lot in common. We were both thrust into leadership roles that we weren't ready for. We both had to lead our people against an enemy that neither of us thought we could beat. We both had lost someone close to us.

"Sheridan gave my people hope, something we were in desperate need of. President Roslin and I did what we could, but we were both struggling with the burdens of leading our people into exile from our homes. He brought us to Babylon 5, which was the very safe harbor we needed against the Cylons. Now, thanks to him, we have a chance of survival and of reclaiming our homeworlds.

"Most of all, I will remember him for being a friend. Not only my friend, but a friend of my people. I shall miss him, because I have never known anyone who gave of himself as much as he did. It was an honor to have known him. May the Gods bless and keep him on his path into the afterlife. So say we all." He left the podium and returned to his seat. Mardren then said a few closing remarks, and the funeral concluded.

Soon afterwards, they boarded ships and headed towards the station. It had been months since they had last been on board, so Hollifield and the others were looking forward to boarding the station one last time. As they headed towards the station through hyperspace, Delenn and Ivanova went to the bridge to meet with Starbuck, who was just getting off duty.

"Delenn! General Ivanova! What brings you to the bridge?"

"Actually it's former General Ivanova now. I've accepted the position of Entil'zha." Ivanova said, and Starbuck nodded, having expected something like this.

"Congratulations! When will they install you?" she asked.

"When we return from the decommissioning, we'll have the ceremony. We've discussed this, and we've decided that we would like for you to be the second for the ceremony." Delenn said.

Starbuck hadn't expected this, and she was clearly taken aback by the honor. "I would be my honor to serve as your second!"

"We need to discuss something with you. It's of a personal nature." Ivanova said.

Starbuck had an idea of what that was about, and she turned to Helo and said, "Take care of things while I'm gone, okay?"

"Sure thing, Starbuck!" Helo said. He didn't know what Starbuck knew, so he didn't have any idea of what they would be talking about. So he took the command chair without a second thought as Starbuck followed the other two women to one of the conference rooms.

Starbuck sat down at the table opposite from Delenn and Ivanova. "I think I have an idea of what you're about to ask me."

"Indeed we are" Ivanova said. "Delenn told me of her vision that she had during the Dreaming. We've talked about it, and we've decided that you should be the one to follow me in the position of Entil'zha when the time comes."

"You still sure about this? I mean, there are plenty of other Rangers who have a lot more experience than I do." Starbuck replied.

"Seniority isn't the sole reason for appointing a Ranger One. You have spirit, Starbuck, a spirit that I've known only one other person to have."

"Who?" she asked.

"Marcus Cole." Delenn answered. Ivanova's face fell for a split second before she rallied to cover it up, but not before Starbuck noticed. She knew that Marcus was special to Ivanova, and that one of the Entil'zha-to-be's greatest regrets was that she never pursued a romantic relationship with him. She knew that he was interested in her, but she had scoffed at the idea, having had more than her fair share of bad relationships in her past. To this day, she still mourned him, even though he wasn't technically dead, but in stasis until the time came than they might be able to revive him.

"I…I don't know what to say!" Starbuck said, speechless at the thought of being second in command for the Rangers.

"We wouldn't be offering this if we didn't think you could handle the responsibility. You've come a long way since we first met you. I think it would be safe to say that you have changed a lot in recent months, and for the better." Ivanova replied.

Delenn added, "So will you take the position?"

"I don't know if I'm ready for it!" Starbuck admitted honestly.

"To be honest, I'm not sure if I'm ready to become Entil'zha either, but I'm still taking the job. If you accept, it'd make my job a lot easier!"

Starbuck thought about it, then decided to go for it. "I'll accept it then!" Delenn and Ivanova both burst into beaming smiles at Starbuck's acceptance. They came around the table and embraced Starbuck, and it felt like being welcomed into a new family.

But the reverie was short-lived as Helo broke in, saying that they had reached the Episilon sector, and were about to jump in normal space. Another death was about to take place, and it would be every bit as painful as Sheridan's passing.

They went aboard one last time to have a look at the place, which was like a ghost town. All the stalls in the Zocolo had long since been packed away. The equipment inside the Observation Dome, except for the consoles essential for the decommissioning, were removed. The station's fusion generators would be set to overload and the subsequent chain reaction would engulf the station. Leaving the station there would be a hazard to navigation, so it would be destroyed.

Hollifield gave the command for the self-destruct sequence to be intiatied, and the remaining techs set the timers off and abandoned the station. From the bridge of the Whitestar that Starbuck commanded, they watched as the reactors at the tail end of the station ruptured and spat fire for a brief moment. The fireball, quickly snuffed out by the vacuum of space, ran up the entire station and the last, best place for peace was no more.

On the bridge, there wasn't a dry eye left. Hollifield cried for the loss of the place that had been the dream of his mentor, Luis Santiago. He hoped that the old Spainard would forgive him for what he'd done, but he knew that the dream would live on with the Interstellar Alliance. It wasn't a great consulation, but it was all he had.

"It was a damn fine place!" Adama said solemnly.

"Yes, it was. I'm gonna miss it." Roslin added.

"As will we all." Admiral Rissen added. Hollifield looked over and saw his Jewish friend brush a tear from his eye. He would be the last commander of the station in the history books, and while he might not have been the best of the lot, he was pretty damn good for being fourth best, considering those who had come before him.

Rissen would go into retirement once back on Earth, and Lieutenant Colonel Sharon Valerii would get a promotion to full colonel and be reassigned to a new post. Hollifield had a lot of work ahead of him when he returned to Geneva, but he had one last ceremony to attend before heading home.

The day dawned bright and clear on Minbar, and the Rangers extingushed the lights as the sun came up over the horizon. Ascending the platform in a Ranger uniform was Susan Ivanova, with Delenn and Starbuck following behind her. Delenn would conduct the ceremony, with Starbuck serving as second. The ceremony began when Starbuck took an ancient and crumbling book from the table and handed it to Delenn. The dialect was so ancient that even Delenn herself had trouble with it, but she managed to handle it well enough. Starbuck had enough trouble with the worker and warrior caste Minbari, and barely knew enough religious caste dialect to have a conversation.

Once done with the reading, she closed the book and held it aloft. Starbuck took the book from Delenn and walked it back over to the table. She then picked up the goblet of diluted sha'neyat (the undiluted variety was poisionous to humans, so it was heavily diluted with grape juice, which had been found to counteract the poisonous affects) and handed it to Delenn. The drink was called 'death destroyer' in Minbari, and it would be the part of the final part of the ceremony.

Before that, though, would be the presentation of the robe that all the previous Entil'zhas had worn. It was over a thousand years old, having been worn by Valen, Sinclair, Delenn, and Sheridan. Now, Ivanova would wear it, signifying her new role. The acolyte that brought it to the stage was beaming with awe in his face, and he gently placed it at the feet of Ivanova, who bowed to him once he rose. The acolyte bowed also and retreated down the stairs in the front of the stage.

Starbuck walked the goblet to Delenn, who took it from her and walked it over to Ivanova. "Taste of it." Delenn said, "Taste of the future, of death, and of life; and of the great void that lies between. Through this act, may death be destroyed!"

Ivanova raised the goblet to her lips and took a sip, swallowing just a touch of it. She handed the goblet back to Delenn, who gave it back to Starbuck. As she placed the goblet back on the table, Delenn said to the crowd, "As it was done long ago, so now we name her who shall lead us. Among the Rangers let Susan Ivanova be known as Entil'Zha."

Immediately, the Rangers shouted out as one, "Entil'zha! We live for the One. We die for the One!"

Delenn continued, "Entil'zha! She is the light in darkness. She is the bridge between worlds!" The resounding roar of approval greeted their departure. Ivanova, now head of the Rangers walked in front, with Starbuck and Delenn walking side by side. Starbuck watched Ivanova walk towards the home where the Entil'zha lived, thinking that she would eventually have some big shoes to fill when the time came. She hoped that Ivanova lived for many years to come, but not because she wasn't ready to become her successor. She had come to view Ivanova as something of a mother to her, and she wanted her to live as long as she could, so that she could once and for all get over the pain that the woman who had given birth to her had inflicted upon her.

The universe was at peace, for now, but, like many times before, it was just an interregnum before conflict arose again. This time, though, the Interstellar Alliance would be the ones to initiate it. There were still years of work ahead, but they would be ready when the time came. As Starbuck headed into Ivanova's new abode, she realized that the tide had turned, and that it was only a matter of time before the enemy would be defeated. As the Minbari had a way of saying, 'faith manages', and Starbuck realized that it had given her the hope that her race would survive after all.


	71. The New Beginning

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Seventy-One**

**The New Beginning**

A couple of years later, the permanent settlement was complete enough to house the Colonials. Two long years of hard work culminated in a major celebration on Colonial Day, where President Roslin dedicated Kobol City, their new home. The city was in reality a middle-sized town that would be similar to what one could see pretty much anywhere on Earth, except for three major landmarks.

The Forum, the Temple, and the Opera House were recreated to the best of their knowledge. The Forum housed the Quorum of Twelve as well as the government itself. The Temple was the religious center of the community, as well as a seminary for a new generation of priests and oracles. The Opera House was the artistic center of the settlement, and also housed the offices for the Colonial News Channel and the various media outlets.

Galen Tyrol came down with his fiancée, Fabby Cortez, who had agreed to immigrate with him to the new colony. Both were assigned to _Galactica_ and primarily were aboard the ship as it helped maintain the defense of the planet. However, the crew had a settlement of their own near the spaceport and adjacent to the Ranger base. Their home was near the civilian settlement, and they were free to go into town when they were on leave.

Admiral Adama had granted them leave for their wedding, which would take place in a few days time. It would be a mostly Colonial ceremony, with some Catholic representation from Fabby's home country of Mexico. A cousin of hers, Fernando, was a priest near Acapulco, and he had agreed to come and assist the lay priest with the ceremony. Only a few would be able to come, as security was tight for travelers between Kobol and Earth. So her mother and father, along with her oldest sister Maria and Aunt Lucia, would attend the ceremony.

Galen had no family that had survived the holocaust, so he invited his entire deck crew as well as select officers to the wedding. Apollo and Dee would attend, as well as Starbuck, Helo, and the Boomer model that they had found on Caprica. Their son was now two and was growing like a weed, from what he had heard. Tyrol didn't know how he would react when he saw Helo, Boomer and their child, but he would try to be as civil as possible.

The Temple would be the site for the wedding as well as the reception afterwards. The day of the nuptials dawns a bit overcast, and it looked like it might threaten to rain, but, thankfully, the clouds retreated and the spring day soon became clear and warm. Fabby arrived earlier than Tyrol to put on her wedding dress, and he wouldn't see her again until she walked down the aisle.

His best man was one of the Earthforce officers who served as a liaison with his deck crew. Adam Shuford was from the mountains of Georgia on the American continent, and was one of the most capable mechanics that Tyrol had ever known. He was also one of the friendliest people that Tyrol had ever known, and had joined him and Fabby on the planet below to help out with the construction of the settlement. The tall, lanky, blond-haired man could do just about anything with a set of tools, but when it came to making music with a guitar, he was simply a magician with the instrument.

His wife was also on the team, a short, stocky gal from the same neck of the woods as he was. Darlene was buxom and blond, and had the nickname of Daisy Duke after an ancient television series that was still revered in the southern American region after almost three centuries. She was just as talented as her husband was, and the quartet hung around a lot after hours and socialized.

Darlene would be Fabby's maid of honor in the ceremony, and was probably more enthusiastic about the big day than either the groom or bride. Her mother owned a wedding shop in northeast Georgia, so planning weddings was second nature to her. Fabby was grateful to Darlene in helping to plan the wedding, because she had no idea where to begin.

"You ready, Tyrol?" Adam said as they walked into the temple.

"Ready as I'll ever be. Were you this nervous before your wedding?" Tyrol asked.

"Hell yeah I was! I was puking my guts out with nervousness before the ceremony! It was a miracle I kept my tuxedo clean for the ceremony!' Adam laughed and patted Tyrol on the back, who looked a little squeamish as they walked into the vestibule.

Colonial ceremonies were fairly similar to those on Earth. The groom entered first beside his best man and took his place to the left of the lay priest, who was a historical scholar from Caprica named Adolpus Walter. Tyrol was dressed in his Colonial dress uniform, something he had worn perhaps maybe a half dozen times in his military career. Adam wore his Earthforce dress grays, and looked sharp in them.

Tyrol spotted Helo and Boomer in the crowd, but the baby wasn't there, and he wondered if something had happened. However, he was relieved when the looked at him and both of them waved at him. He still was a little uncomfortable with Helo being with Boomer, even though it was a different copy. Before the holocaust hit, Boomer and Tyrol had been an item, very much against regs, since she was his superior officer and he was enlisted personnel. They had talked about being mustered out of the service when _Galactica_ was official decommissioned, getting married, and starting a family.

Well, he was about to do that, but with a different woman. Fabby wasn't similar to Boomer, but she had plenty of things that attracted him. She was passionate, hard working, and very spiritual. Not only that, but when he advanced the idea of possibly going into the priesthood after his tour of duty on _Galactica_ was over, she was excited, because Colonial priests were allowed to be married, unlike those in her Catholic faith.

When she walked into the church, all thoughts of the past vanished like the mists of fog when the sun rose above the horizon. She was incredibly beautiful in his eyes already, but the sight of her walking down the aisle in the cream-colored dress made her even more beautiful. Her father looked handsome in his tuxedo as he escorted her down the aisle, and he smiled at Tyrol as he handed his daughter off to her intended.

The ceremony lasted for less than half an hour. They had written their own vows, which they exchanged. The Catholic priest performed part of the wedding Mass, and the lay priest performed the Colonial part of the ceremony. When the lay priest announced that they were now man and wife, Tyrol lifted up the veil in front of his wife's face and kissed her. The attendees got up and applauded the newlyweds, and continued to do so as they walked out of the temple.

The reception was a low-key affair, and had a bit of a Mexican flair. Adama walked up to Tyrol after the dinner but before the dance began and patted his crew chief on the back, saying, "I believe the Gods have blessed you with a good wife, Chief!"

"I believe they have, sir! She's very special!"

"I hope you're not planning to muster out of the service yet, because I need you on _Galactica_, what with what's coming." Adama said.

Tyrol knew what he meant, and reassured his CO. "We both agreed to stay on until we've beaten the Cylons, sir. Once that's done, we'll go into civilian life and start building a future together."

"I'm glad, Galen. I wouldn't have blamed you if you mustered out, but I'm very glad you're sticking with me."

"Thanks, sir!" The two shook hands and Adama walked away, heading back to where President Roslin sat at a nearby table.

"Makes you wonder if there's something there, eh?" The familiar voice of Helo came from behind him. Tyrol turned around and there he was, along with Boomer.

"Hey! Did you enjoy the ceremony?" Tyrol asked awkwardly.

The two of them laughed and Helo replied, "So much so that we can't wait to have one of our own! That'll be a while, though, because we're heading out on a secret mission."

"Secret mission?" Tyrol said.

"Yes, and it's a big one. So much so that I can't say much about it, even though I know you won't say anything. All I can say is that it's vital to beating the toasters once and for all!" Helo said.

Tyrol looked at Boomer and asked, "You don't have a problem with that?"

"Nope! The real problem is the mechanical toasters, not the human versions. From what we understand, almost all of the human Cylons on their homeworld as well as the Colonies fled and escaped the Cylon/Drakh alliance. They're at a classified location right now, and we're going to meet with them and help them." Boomer replied with a smile on her face.

"So are you two engaged?" Tyrol asked.

"Yep, we are. I know it's kind of awkward, Chief, but I'll take good care of Boomer and our baby."

"Well, I'm happy for the both of you! Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go dance with my wife!" Tyrol said as he spied his wife approaching him. As he took her out onto the dance floor, Helo and Boomer looked on.

"It's still a little awkward for him." Boomer commented.

"I figured as such, but with his new wife and with us being away, it'll help him move on. I remember how much he loved the Boomer copy that we originally had on _Galactica_." Helo replied.

Boomer nodded and replied, "I remember that. I remember also how she was conflicted with what was going on with her. Now that we're free of the control by the machines, we don't have to worry about something like that ever happening again!"

Helo smiled, kissed his soon-to-be wife, and took her out onto the dance floor. They enjoyed the music, even if it was foreign to them.

Roslin watched them all from her seat, content to sit there and enjoy the sight of all the young people dancing the night away. A hand extended towards her, though, and a deep grumbly voice asked, "Would you care to dance, Madam President?"

She smiled up at Admiral Adama and replied, "Of course, Admiral. I would love to!" She let him lead her to the dance floor and joined the dancers. While a lot of hard times lie ahead, they enjoyed this brief moment of joy for as long as they could.


	72. The Passage of Time

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Seventy-Two**

**The Passage of Time**

American Senator Clarissa Cally watched the returns come in on election night in 2283 and was not happy with the returns coming in. She had thought that President Garrison Hollifield was ripe for the picking, but he had stubbornly held on to the popularity he had gained over the years with the people. Earth was a neck and neck race, which may go one-way or the other. However, the outer colonies were deciding the race, and they were going for Hollifield in a big way.

The party was being held in the Washington Hilton's ballroom, but the mood had gone from hopefulness to desperation to defeat. Cally had won North and South America, but Hollifield had taken Europe, Asia, and Australia. Africa was a toss-up, and the few voters in Antarctica went, as usual, for the fringe candidates. Mars went for Hollifield in a massive landslide, and it began to tilt the balance towards Hollifield.

When the final results from Proxima 3 came in, the game was over. She had needed to win it by a wide margin to have any reasonable chance of catching Hollifield, but it had gone to Hollifield by a significant margin. Cally got up off the couch and walked over to her press secretary, Malcolm Wilcox, and told him to prepare for the concession speech. "It's over, guys. Better go ahead and get this over with. We'll lick our wounds for a few days and then prepare for the next phase." Cally said.

"What would that be?" asked one of her longtime supporters, Campbell Rollings, the senator from Alabama.

"The Presidency of the American Consortium. Since it's a wide-open race next year, I believe I can take it, especially since we won the election here. Now, let's get downstairs to the ballroom and get this over with!"

Thousands of miles away, in the Santiago ballroom of the government palace inside Earthdome, Hollifield's supporters watched on as Cally made her concession speech. His smile grew wider as he watched her reluctantly throw in the towel. When it was over, the roar from his supporters in the ballroom was felt through the walls of the back rooms. "Seems like they're happy!" he said to Dan Tanner, his chief of staff.

"They deserve to be, Mr. President. Shall we go out now and give them something to really cheer about?" Tanner replied.

Hollifield laughed and looked around, asking, "Where's Twanissa?"

"Here!" she said, walking up to them. She had fully recovered from her bicycle accident that had almost permanently paralyzed her, and she walked very much like she always had before her injury. She embraced him and said, "Congratulations, handsome!"

He smiled and replied, "Ready to knock their socks off again, beautiful?" She nodded, and he gave her a quick kiss, then took her by the hand and walked into the ballroom and onto the stage to the rapturous applause of the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, here he is…the winner and still president of the Earth Alliance, Garrison Hollifield!" said DeVon Rossdale, his campaign press secretary, whose booming bass voice could have easily announced his arrival without microphone enhancement.

He shook Rossdale's hand as well as all of those of his campaign staff, many of who had been with him for years. Twanissa followed behind him, shaking hands and exchanging hugs with them. She joined him at the podium and they waved to the crowd as they kept up their standing ovation for what seemed like forever. Hollifield kissed his wife on the cheek and whispered, "Time to give them the winning speech!" She nodded and walked back to where the staff stood as he began his speech.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I want to thank you for your support! We've come a long way from when we were all working on the first campaign to elect Suzanna Luchenko, God rest her soul, twenty years ago. We've gone through hell and back in all of this time, but our work is almost done."

The speech was very much like all the other victory speeches he had given over the years. After he had finished, the crowd inside the ballroom erupted again in applause and cheers as he walked off the stage with his wife, hand in hand. He knew the party would go on for a while longer, but he was exhausted and really wanted to get to bed. However, the private celebration would go on even longer in the presidential suite, and Hollifield's head probably wouldn't hit the pillow until well after the sun rose up the next morning.

Late the next day, he walked down into the situation room for a conference with General Cain, who was now located on Marcab, helping to develop the new fleet that would launch Operation Supernova, the offensive that, when launched, would have the liberation of the Colonial homeworlds as its objective. Adama was also developing new ships in the yards above Kobol, in cooperation with Earthforce and the Interstellar Alliance.

On Marcab as well were the human Cylons who had escaped the grasp of Vacit and his allies. The first generation models were helping to finish the development of the second-generation models as well as progressing with the third versions. Dr. Gaius Baltar and Six were there, along with Gina, and they were spearheading the effort. Hollifield didn't completely trust Baltar, so he had him discreetly watched by some of his assistants.

As he sat down at the head of the table in the situation room, the communications link with Marcab was established and the image of Cain and Baltar came up. Unbeknownst to the others, Six was there as well, but she said nothing, preferring to speak through Baltar. "Mr. President! Congratulations on your reelection!" said Cain.

"Thank you, General! So what's the latest from our secret base?"

"We've just finished testing the prototype for the new Gladiator-class destroyer, and the tests were a complete success. We've also had great success with the new cruisers and frigates that we are developing for the offensive. I'll be sending the full report to you on a subchannel." Cain answered.

"Very good, General! Dr. Baltar, how goes the integration of the human Cylons?"

Baltar said, "We're making lots of progress, Mr. President. The tests we've done so far have shown that the first generation models are fully independent from Cylon influence, and we are very close to bringing out the second generation clones and developing them for the operation. The third generation will take another couple of years at least before they are ready."

"That's quite all right, Dr. Baltar. For a change, time is on our side. Intelligence indicates that the Cylons are focusing on developing new models of human Cylons as we speak, and since they are effectively starting from scratch, we have a leg up on them." Hollifield replied.

They finished the teleconference and Hollifield clicked off the link and went back to his office, where Dan Tanner was waiting for him. "How did the conference go, sir?"

"Things are progressing well, Dan. It looks like our plans are advancing well on Marcab. Anything new going on in these halls of power that I should know about?"

"Not much, as it usually is after an election. Rumors are running rampant that Cally's going to run for the presidency of the American consortium in an effort to bolster her chances for the next campaign." Tanner replied.

"Really? Well, that's news to me! I had figured she would just stick to her senate seat in Washington and maybe make a run for the Earth Senate seat."

"Not from what I am hearing. She's taking a break, as we expected, but it looks like she's not going to go away quietly."

"Never expected her to, Dan. But, for now, I'm going to enjoy the victory for as long as I can, which will be about another day or so until the next crisis comes along." Tanner laughed and they went through the usual briefing, which was later today because of the celebrations of the night before.

As time passed, Hollifield's plans began to come to fruition. Ivanova, along with her second in command Starbuck, was readying class after class of new Rangers for the coming battle. Cain and Adama were progressing at a steady rate with the construction of the new ships, and Baltar's group had already begun getting the second generation ready for what was to come.

Meanwhile, the new colony on Kobol was progressing well, and life was proceeding as it should, with people marrying and having children. Galen Tyrol and his wife Fabby had just had their first child, a daughter named Olivia.

While life progressed on there, the ultimate goal was still on the top of the priorities list, that being liberating the Colonial worlds. The goal was to have everything ready by 2288, when Hollifield would step down as president of the Earth Alliance. Once that was done, the offensive would begin, and he would be at the front, leading the charge alongside the others.

He had accepted his fate long ago that he would always have battles to fight against the darkness. As he leaned back in his chair in his office one day, he understood that this was probably the last big conflict he would see in his lifetime. He was approaching his seventieth birthday, and the age was finally starting to catch up with him after all these years. He just hoped that he would live long enough to complete this one last major task in his life.


	73. The Son Becomes A Man

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Seventy-Three**

**The Son Becomes A Man**

David Sheridan had just turned twenty-one years old when he was assigned to Starbuck's crew aboard one of the new _Lenonn_-class destroyers. It was the _Neroon_, named for the member of the warrior caste who, in his final moments, had healed the rift between the warrior and religious castes after a bloody civil war. Delenn herself had picked the name for the ship, and had asked Starbuck to take the ship out on its initial shakedown cruise.

As he came through the airlock and on board the ship, Starbuck noted just how much he looked like his late father when he was young. She didn't mention anything about it, because David always felt a little uncomfortable being compared to his father. He felt the weight of his father's legacy even more now that he had passed on.

He walked up to her and said, "Ranger Sheridan reporting for duty!"

"Welcome aboard, Ranger Sheridan! Glad to have you aboard!" She extended her hand and the young man shook it. "Have they briefed you on your duties that you'll have on board the _Neroon_?"

"Yes, captain, I was briefed before I came up from the surface of Marcab. So I'm to be your tactical officer, correct?" Sheridan asked.

"That's correct, but you'll also be my executive officer as well. Think you can handle it?" Starbuck replied.

"Well, I was exec on Whitestar 721 with Ranger Poleen, so I know of some of the duties. It'll probably take some time getting used to this much larger ship, though!"

"I understand. This ship is almost as big as the _Galactica_, but packs a hell of a lot more firepower than my old ship. The systems are a lot more sophisticated than they are on the Whitestars, but this is just a shakedown run, so it's highly unlikely we will see any action, and, frankly, it's a good thing, because we're not quite ready for it just yet." Starbuck replied.

A day later, once the rest of the crew had boarded, they departed the space docks and headed out on their shakedown cruise. The Marcab system was off the beaten track, so to speak. Much like Earth, it was in an area of the galaxy near the Rim, so few inhabited systems would be encountered by the crew of the _Neroon_, which was all to the good, because this crew was young and relatively inexperienced.

They jumped into hyperspace, a little more smoothly than Starbuck had expected but not smooth enough by her standards. Of course, her standards were very high indeed, and almost unreachable. She wanted to push the crew, but not break them, much like Admiral Adama had done when she was part of _Galactica_'s crew. Like Adama had done to his crew, she wanted to instill in them the drive to be their very best, and not to be satisfied with the way that they performed their duties. It wasn't until she had started taking command that she learned just how much Adama had taught her about helming a ship.

Their first major drill was in the Lorgran system about twelve light years away from Marcab. It was uninhabited, and had a large asteroid belt in between the fifth and sixth planets of the system, which was perfect for the drills she was planning on conducting. "Bring us to within one hundred clicks of the belt, Ta'Chan!" Starbuck ordered.

"Yes, captain!" replied the Narn, and the _Neroon _cruised to a relative stop in front of the belt.

Starbuck activated a communications link to the flight bay and announced, "This is the captain! Prepare for combat drill! Alpha wing to be launched in five minutes!" She thumbed off the link and turned to David Sheridan and ordered him to activate the defense grid.

The weapons ports opened all along the ships, and the cannons began to warm up in preparation for firing. The plan was simple: the fighters would pick targets and destroy them as the _Neroon _drew closer to the belt. When the ship was in optimal firing range, the fighters would pull away from the ship's firing solution and Starbuck would let loose with everything she had.

"Fighters in position to make first strafing run, captain!" Sheridan said aloud.

"Order them to engage targets and fire at will!" Starbuck ordered, and communications officer Nancy Blumfeld sent the message out to the fighters. The leader of Alpha wing sent back a confirmation and the fighters broke into attack formation. Starbuck watched them attack the smaller asteroids with a critical eye, but had to admit that she was impressed with what she saw. "Activate graviton engines, Ta'Chan, and take us closer to the belt!"

The Narn engineer did as she ordered, and the massive cruiser started moving towards the belt. "How much longer until we're in optimum firing range, Sheridan?"

"One minute, captain! Recommend that you call off the fighters!" he replied.

Starbuck smiled and ordered, "Blumfeld, recall the fighters! Sheridan, prepare to activate forward quantum discharge cannons!"

"Aye, sir! Cannons coming online, ready for your order to fire!" Sheridan announced.

Starbuck chose her target, a massive asteroid that was the size of a Cylon basestar. Her smile was particularly carnivorous as she indicated which asteroid she wanted to fire at. Sheridan locked weapons onto the target and awaited Starbuck's order to fire.

"Fire!" she said, and three beams shot out of the bow of the ship, triangulating their fire onto the asteroid, cutting across it with a powerful beam of energy. "Cease fire!" she ordered, and the beam cut off. When they looked again at the screen, the asteroid had been sliced in half, and each half was floating away from each other and bumping into other rocks. "Take us away, Vorchan!" Starbuck ordered to the Minbari pilot, and the female Minbari Ranger turned the ship around and headed away from the asteroid belt.

Hours later, Sheridan came into the mess hall and got some food. He looked around for a place to sit and spotted Starbuck sitting by herself, reading over some reports. He walked over to her table and asked if he could sit with her, and she nodded as she was swallowing a bite of some ravioli. "So how did you think the crew did in the drill today, captain?"

"Not bad. Not bad at all. There's room for improvement, but it went better than I had expected. Of course I'd be foolish to expect every drill to go that smoothly, but it is a good start." Starbuck replied.

"I'm glad we performed well for you, captain! Most of the crew is pretty much fresh out of training, so some rough patches are to be expected."

Starbuck nodded and added, "That's the beauty of the shakedown cruise, because you can frak up and it doesn't kill you…or it's not supposed to kill you, as the case may be. So, how do you feel you're doing as XO?"

"Okay, I guess! It's not what I really wanted, but I do what is asked of me." Sheridan admitted.

Starbuck raised an eyebrow curiously, "If you had your choice, what would you rather do?"

"Deep cover work. Going to various planets and walking among them, gathering intelligence, keeping the peace, and basically doing what the Rangers were intended to do in the first place."

Starbuck thought for a minute and asked, "So you would rather not follow your father as commander of a starship?"

"Not really. Granted, I still look up to him even though he's passed beyond the veil years ago, but I've never really wanted to follow in my father's footsteps.

"He never pushed me to go into the Rangers, and neither did my mother. I did this on my own, mainly because I wanted to do my own thing. I always insisted on not getting any preferential treatment, but sometimes I did get it anyway. The older Rangers look up to my father, and they think that they see him in me."

"And this makes you uncomfortable?" Starbuck asked.

Sheridan nodded and added, "To be honest, I wanted to be more like my uncle Mikey."

"Mikey?" Starbuck asked.

"Michael Garibaldi." Sheridan answered, and as Starbuck nodded, he continued, "He's actually my godfather, but I've always called him Uncle Mikey. He hates it, but he's never told me to stop. As much as I love and respect my father, I've always wanted to be more like Garibaldi than my father."

"Does your mom know?" she asked.

"Yeah, and it annoys her to no end. I think she wants me to be like my father, but I just can't go down that road. I'd rather make my own way."

Starbuck said, "Well, at least you had good parents. Mine, on the other hand…" She shrugged and drank some more coffee.

"They were bad, huh? Care to talk about it?" Sheridan asked.

"Nah, not right now. Maybe some other time. Besides, I've got a meeting with the flight crew in fifteen minutes anyway." Starbuck said.

Later that night as she lay on her bed in her quarters, she wondered why she still felt touchy about what happened to her as a child. Even after all these years and all the change she had gone through, her experiences in childhood still bothered her to this day in ways she hadn't never expected. Her mother had long since passed away in the holocaust, but she hadn't spoken to her since she entered the military. Before the holocaust, and even some time afterwards, she had no desire to speak to her. Now, though, she wished her mom were still around so that she could ask her why she was so abusive. She always knew her mother had problems, and, for the first time in her life, she wondered if she shouldn't have stuck around and tried to help her, but then she realized that it might have been for naught.

As she fell asleep, she wondered if she would ever have children of her own, and it occurred to her that the left ovary that the Cylons had taken from her might have been used to make some new clones. As far as she knew, they hadn't harvested any eggs from it, but she didn't know for sure. The second and third generation clones were housed on the Marcab homeworld, and were under the tightest security. Before she passed into slumber, she made a decision to see if she could find out what had happened to those eggs she had involuntarily donated.


	74. Hiding Gifts from the Kids

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Seventy-Four**

**Hiding Gifts From The Kids**

2286 dawned as Entil'zha Susan Ivanova was traveling with Admiral William Adama and now former Colonial president Laura Roslin, who had not sought re-election to her office. Instead, she had accepted the position of being the Colonial ambassador to the Interstellar Alliance. While the Colonials were technically part of the Earth Alliance, they, like those who lived on Mars, were also represented by an ambassador in Tuzinor, and Roslin now spent her days shuttling back and forth between Kobol and Minbar.

Her vice president, Tom Zarek, had not succeeded her, though. He had decided to follow his new wife Ellen to Earth, and now served as Colonial representative to the Earth Alliance. Wallace Gray had become president, with Sarah Porter having become vice president. Life on Kobol had settled down into a routine these days, and people tended to not remember their experiences fleeing the Cylons as often anymore.

Not Roslin and Adama though, because they didn't have that luxury. They knew the danger was still very present. It had been years since the Cylons attacked, but they didn't take them for granted for a second. Instead, they were preparing to take the fight to their enemies, which were why they were aboard the Whitestar with Entil'zha Ivanova, heading to the secret base on Marcab.

In the almost six years since they found one another, the Colonials had managed to develop a thriving colony on the homeworld of their Gods, Kobol. The birthrate had risen, and the Colonial population in their main colony was now over 50,000 for the first time since the holocaust. The immigration of non-Colonials had boomed, and made the off-worlders side of the permanent settlement much larger than the Colonial settlement.

Crossover was inevitable, and the Colonial government did nothing to stop it, allowing for the non-Colonials to interact with the Colonials and visa versa. Citizens were free to live wherever they wanted in the settlement, but generally Colonials lived in their settlement and the non-Colonials lived in theirs. This was done to preserve Colonial culture as much as possible, but it was a challenging fight as the influence from Earth was inevitable and, especially among the young people, quite intoxicating.

Roslin and Adama had similar concerns about the future of Colonial culture, and it had helped to bring them closer together in recent years. Adama had donated his private library of books to the Colonial library to be copied and maintained for historical purposes. It was, sad to say, a limited collection, and part of Adama looked forward to freeing the Colonies just so he could recover as much of their cultural heritage as possible.

It was an irony that Adama appreciated that part of the effort to retake the Colonies was on the Marcab homeworld. In 2259, a plague broke out among the Marcab people, which ran through them like wildfire. Before anyone could find a cure, the entire race had been wiped out. Since then, the Interstellar Alliance had maintained a presence there in an effort to preserve the planet's history and the deceased race's culture, and it had also served as a base of operations during the Shadow War. The idea to use it as such came from Garrison Hollifield, who oversaw the development of a Ranger training facility there.

Today, it served as a secret base, jointly operated by the Earth Alliance and the Interstellar Alliance. Only a select few people knew of it, and even fewer of them knew of what all was going on there. General Nelena Cain had transferred there to help oversee the operation, and, from the reports she sent out, things were proceeding very well.

The Whitestar docked at the shipyards and after the airlock cycled and pressurized, Ivanova, Adama, and Roslin stepped off of the Whitestar and onto the deck of the habitation and administrative module in the shipyard complex. Cain met them at the airlock and spoke to them as they walked into the facility. "Welcome to the Marcab ship yards! It's a pleasure to see you all again!"

Roslin and Adama smiled and nodded in a friendly manner, but Ivanova couldn't help but giving her old friend a much warmer smile. They hadn't moved beyond friendship yet, but Cain's returning smile indicated that the possibility lie there. Roslin and Adama didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, as they knew that Cain and Ivanova had become close friends from their time in Earthdome.

Sticking to business helped keep them from any awkward conversations about personal lives, and the trio of visitors were eager to see the new _Lenonn_­-class destroyers. Cain took them over to an observation gallery and showed them the view of the _Neroon_ as it was docked to one of the shipyard's maintenance facilities. "We decided to base it partially on the Whitestar framework and partially on the design of the Colonial battlestars. It's gives us a battlestar type ship, with capacity for four squadrons of fighters as well as a wide range of other ships and shuttles. The weaponry is very similar to the _Victory_-class destroyers, but even more extensive."

"I see that the nacelles are similar to the flight pods on the battlestars, but they don't serve the same purpose, I take it?" Adama inquired.

"No, the nacelles won't be serving as the flight pods. They're home to the graviton engines, which are much larger than they are on the Whitestars. However, we did build in launch bays on each side of the ship, as well as the landing bay on the underside of the ship. This gives us plenty of options when it comes to engaging the enemy in battle." Cain answered.

"From what I have read of the design, this ship has some sharp teeth. Missile launchers, all sorts of cannon batteries, and an extensive defense grid." Roslin noted.

"It's meant to be that way, ma'am. We designed it to be able to go toe-to-toe with the Cylon basestars and the Drakh motherships. Our smaller ships will be able to assist these destroyers in taking on the Drakh cruisers and carriers, and can team up and take on the basestars when necessary. In addition, all these ships are using the Vorlon Defense System to help better protect the ship during an attack." Cain replied.

"Impressive! Very impressive!" Adama said, adding, "You've done an outstanding job with these new ships!"

"Thank you, Admiral! That's means a lot!" Cain said.

"When can we go on a tour of the ship?" Ivanova asked.

"Right now, if you want. I informed Ranger Starbuck that you were coming in today and that you might wish to tour the ship. If you'll come this way, we can get started." The trio nodded and Cain escorted them to the docking arm that extended out to the _Neroon_. As they boarded the ship, they noted that the activity was frenetic, and Roslin asked about it.

"They have just gotten back from their shakedown cruise, and Starbuck sent over a ton of recommendations for improvement to the ship. Overall, she said that the ship performed outstanding in the trial run, but she believes that we could make the ship even better." Cain replied.

Starbuck had them escorted to the bridge, as she was heavily involved in overseeing the overhaul of the systems. When they walked on the bridge, she said, "My apologies for not meeting you at the airlock, but we're rather deep into things here. My exec's out training with our fighter pilots at the moment. They're good, but they need more training."

"I'm surprised that you're not out there with them." Adama said with a raised eyebrow.

Cain answered for her, "Trust me, she's logged in more than enough hours whipping her fighter squadrons into shape. I've seen that myself."

"Besides, Sheridan needs some more command experience, and I can't do everything myself, you know?" Starbuck said as she looked at Adama with a bit of a smile.

"Point taken!" Adama replied with a chuckle. "We'll need them in top condition when the time comes. Gods know it'll be a very difficult fight!"

"So when will we kick off Operation Supernova?" Starbuck asked.

"We've not nailed down a specific timeline yet, but it's at least a year or two away. President Hollifield isn't seeking another term, so when he steps down from office, he's going to be leading the efforts on Delenn's behalf." Ivanova said.

"He's not running again?" Starbuck asked, clearly surprised.

"No, he's not. Remember, he's almost seventy-one years old now, and even though he's in very good shape, he's still not a young man anymore." Ivanova replied.

"With everything else going on back in Earthdome, I'm surprised that he's had time to devote to what we're doing out here! But he's been going above and beyond for us, that's for sure!" Cain noted.

"I think that a lot of people have done that, General Cain. Yourself, Entil'zha Ivanova, Admiral Adama, Ranger Starbuck, and so on and so forth have a lot to be proud of, and very soon we'll reap the fruit of those labors." Roslin said.

"Indeed. It won't be long now!" Adama smiled as he looked at her.

The pieces were coming into place, and as they began the tour of the ship, each of them had a similar feeling of gaining confidence that they could accomplish the goals outlined in Operation Supernova. It was a massive undertaking that committed the resources of the entire Interstellar Alliance to the cause, and it would not be long until the product of all that work would be put to the test.


	75. Handing Over The Keys

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Seventy-Five**

**Handing Over The Keys**

The inauguration of Sarita Chandra as the new president of the Earth Alliance had gone smoothly, and Garrison Hollifield, along with his wife Twanissa, stayed in the background and watched the new president, along with her husband, a Briton named Brandon, enjoy the acclaim of the party faithful. During a break from the festivities, the new president came over to the old one for a word. "So ready for life after this place?" she asked.

"Indeed. I've got a lot on my agenda now that I've handed over the reins to you." Hollifield replied.

"You sure you want to do this? You have my full support if you do!" Chandra said.

"It's for the best. We've worked for years to get ready for this. With my military experience, along with the others involved in this project, I'm needed out there."

Chandra nodded and said, "No rest for the weary, eh?"

"Nah, that's not my style. Besides, we can't leave these Cylons and Drakh alone."

Chandra replied, "I agree with you there. Well, you have my full support in whatever you do, and Earthforce will be behind you, if I have anything to say about it!" She stuck out her hand and he shook it. "Now if you will excuse me, I have some arms to twist!" She smiled as she walked away, heading towards a conclave of Earth Alliance senators in both major parties.

"Well, I'm sure gonna miss this place!" Twanissa said with sarcasm.

"You aren't the only one! In a way, it's going to be nice to get back into space and do something constructive." Hollifield replied.

"More like destructive, hopefully, towards the enemy! So when do we head off to Minbar?"

"Tomorrow morning. We'll head to Tuzinor and meet up with our allies. Then, when we are ready, we'll give the enemy something to remember!" He put his arm around his wife and led them to their room where they were staying for the night.

The next morning, they were joined at Geneva spaceport by an old friend who had been assisting Hollifield with the preparations for Operation Supernova, and despite the graying hair, General Laurel Takashima still was a fine example of Japanese beauty and intelligence.

"Mr. President! Glad to see you this fine morning!" she said sarcastically as she brushed away some of the snow falling in her face. An overnight snowstorm had arrived and was dumping several inches of snow on the ground. It wouldn't affect their departure, though, as the Whitestar was used to landing and taking off in extremely difficult conditions.

"General, fine to see you as well. My wife will be along shortly. She had to go to the powder room to freshen up a bit before we leave." He brushed away some snow from his eyes before continuing, "It's gonna feel like old home week, with almost all the old Babylon 5ers involved with this."

"Speaking of which, here comes another old timer as well!" Takashima said, gesturing with her head at two other people headed towards them. Coming alongside the former first lady was the recently promoted General Sharon Valerii, who had also been involved with Operation Supernova.

"I'll be glad to get back into space just to get out of this weather!" Twanissa Hollifield said, shivering even though she was well bundled up against the weather. "Makes me yearn for the Bondi Beach this time of year!"

"Well, when we get done with this, I'll take you to the Gold Coast for a nice, long vacation!" he said as he embraced his wife.

"Screw the vacation! Let's retire there!" she countered as she kissed him on the cheek.

The two other women were feeling kind of left out, so Takashima interjected by saying, "If I may be so bold, the sooner we get on board, the sooner you'll be close to retirement!" Valerii looked a little shocked by the bluntness, but was even more shocked by Hollifield sticking a tongue out at her and saying, "Spoil sport!" They were all laughing as the boarded the Whitestar, which soon enough took off and headed up into the heavens.

The trip took five days at top speed, and they soon were descending through the atmosphere of Minbar on a course for Tuzinor. As he usually did whenever he was arriving on Minbar, he remembered what it was like the first time he had arrived here. It was 2248, a few months after the end of the Earth-Minbari War. He had been part of a delegation to discuss plans for the Babylon project with the Minbari, of which he had been assigned to work with alongside of then-vice-president Luis Santiago. No one knew what to expect on that first trip, and when Hollifield climbed out of the shuttle and became the first human to set foot on Minbari soil, little did he know at the time how the fates of each world would be intertwined with one another.

The Tuzinor spaceport hadn't been around when that historic visit was made, but it seemed like an old friend nonetheless. Once a sleepy Minbari town, the place had exploded with growth. Being home to the Interstellar Alliance as well as the Rangers helped to make the place a very sizable city, but it still kept the small Minbari village feel. Crystalline buildings were omnipresent, with even the smallest abode having a small garden and fountain to make the place even more serene.

They were taken to ISA headquarters to meet with the others who had assembled there. It had been a while, but he still knew the layout of the place, which made his guards all the more nervous as they struggled to keep up. He wanted to get right to business, as he usually had a way of doing when something big was about to happen.

As he entered the conference room, he spotted Delenn, his old friend, at the head of the table. Her hair had gone a bit grayer in the time since John Sheridan's passing, but she still held up despite that as well as her responsibilities as president of the Interstellar Alliance. Beside her was Entil'zha Susan Ivanova, whose brunette locks were tinged with blonde highlights these days, which made Hollifield suspect that she was using it to camouflage the gray strands. Ivanova wasn't the most vain person in the world, but he didn't blame her for using a little enhancement to hold back time a bit. Besides, he himself dyed his hair these days, not caring to be reminded of his age in the mirror.

Michael Garibaldi didn't need to worry about that, as he had gone bald a generation ago. If one didn't know better, one would think he hadn't aged at all until you looked into his eyes and saw the fatigue. The same look was in the eyes of Dr. Stephen Franklin and Tessa Halloran, who were also veterans of the Shadow War and the civil war on Earth. Matthew and Elizabeth Gideon hadn't been with them at the time, but they had been around for the Drakh plague as well as the eventual liberation of Centauri Prime, as had Galen and Dureena Nafeel. Admiral Adama and former colonial president now ambassador Roslin also looked as if they'd been going without much sleep for years now.

In contrast, Starbuck, Helo, Apollo, and Boomer (who wasn't phased by the presence of the original Sharon Valerii, having become used to her over the years) still looked in the peak of youth. They were each in their thirties now, having gained more and more responsibility with each passing year. Apollo was now a battlestar commander of his own, having taken the reins of _Galactica_ from his father. Starbuck commanded a fleet of Whitestars these days, as did Helo, who had Boomer as his second in command.

David Sheridan stood beside his immediate commanding officer, Starbuck, and he looked like a clone of his father. Memories of his old man flooded into Hollifield's mind as they waited for the meeting to start, and he wondered how David was handling the legacy of his father. He knew it had to be difficult, and he made a mental note to speak to him when the chance came up.

Then there was his old friend Andromeda, who stood beside Alwyn. Somehow the both of them defied the passage of time and chatted like old friends. Andromeda rarely left Earth these days, but had volunteered to help with the operation when Hollifield informed her of his decision to step down from the presidency and help lead the final push against the Cylons. Her black, triangular ship, similar to those piloted by Alwyn and Galen, would be used for the first part of the operation, which was to shuttle in units that would help set up a base of operations for ground combat on the Colonial worlds.

Delenn called the meeting to order and they all sat down at the large conference table to begin the final preparations for Operation Supernova. The outline for it had long been readied, and now all that was left to do was to fine-tune the last details. The fleet assembled at the Marcab shipyards was on its way to Kobol, and the fleet assembled at Minbar would soon be on its way as well to the former home of the Colonial gods.

The pieces were being placed on the board, and the final chess matches against the enemy were soon to commence. Who would be the first to yell out checkmate remained to be seen, but the allies were as ready as they ever could hope to be.


	76. Plowing The Old Fields

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Seventy-Six**

**Plowing The Old Fields**

The fleets from Marcab and Minbar gathered in Kobol orbit, where final preparations were underway. Colonial battlestars were gleaming in the light from the star at the center of the system, festooned with new hull plating and bristling with new weaponry. Alongside them were the _Lenonn-_class destroyers, of which Starbuck headed a fleet of them. Earthforce, Minbari, Centauri, and Narn ships also were plentiful, as well as a motley collection from the other members of the Interstellar Alliance.

Branna, caretaker of the great machine beneath Kobol, looked on inquisitively at the beings assembling in their ships around her planet and wondered if they would accomplish their goals. She had looked on curiously at the humans who had built the new settlement on her planet, but did not intervene to stop them.

"Looks like it won't be long now!" said a voice near her.

"Not at all, Draal! They're soon to depart. Whether they are successful is another matter entirely." Branna replied.

"If Sheridan were here, I would consider it a certainty, but since he's gone to the sea, I'm not so sure." Draal admitted.

"From what I have seen of the humans, Draal, they have a way of enduring and adapting in ways my race never could. Having watched them build their new settlement on this world has been interesting indeed."

"They are a most curious race. My race almost wiped them out, long ago. I wonder sometimes what would have happened had we not pulled back when we did."

Branna pondered that for a few moments, then said, "Perhaps the Vorlons would have went to the Colonials and brought them to the Minbari. It's doubtful though, because Valen was from Earth after all, you know?"

"I know. Now, though, they must be masters of their own destinies. I do hope they survive the coming storm. Seeing the Cylons embrace the darkness so easily is troubling indeed!" Draal said.

"They wanted to lash back at those who enslaved them, which made them vulnerable to the Drakh. What damns them further is that they did the same thing as their masters did to them. Creating those clones using Vorlon technology troubles me, as it should you."

As Brenna and Draal continued their conversation underground, activity was buzzing on the surface. Supplies were being readied, troops were being shuttled up to the ships in orbit, and the command staff was making last preparations for the attacks on the Colonial homeworlds. Starbuck was heading out of the administrative center at the Ranger base and heading to the spaceport, scanning over the latest intelligence from the Colonial worlds, when she bumped into Apollo.

"Lee! What brings you here?" Starbuck said, smiling at seeing her old friend.

"I was looking for you, in fact. Just wanted to see how things were going with you." Apollo replied.

"Busy and hectic, with all that's going on. I'm heading over to the spaceport to catch a shuttle to the _Neroon_. I hear you're headed to Picon."

Apollo nodded and said, "We leave in a couple of days. Dad and I will be taking the bulk of the fleet there to try and liberate the defense headquarters. Where are you guys going?"

"Caprica. We'll be heading there a few days later. According to the plan, they want to strain off the forces there to make the chances of landing on Caprica better. That's where the bulk of the Cylons are, which isn't surprising."

"Not at all. So how are things with you and Anders?"

Starbuck replied, "Good. We don't see each other much though, because he's commanding a Whitestar these days that's not in my fleet. He'll be with Cain's group going to Sagittaron. She's changed a lot since we were on the _Pegasus_."

"Yeah, I noticed that. She's been on Earth all this time, so she's been away from our people for a long time, and they've forgotten most of what happened on that ship." Apollo said with some bitterness in his voice.

"She was under a ton of stress, Lee. She'd just lost her only daughter and everything she held dear, like we all did. Some of us just handled it better than others." Starbuck said with a shrug.

"You've changed quite a lot too. I miss the old you." Apollo mused.

"Well, I don't. A lot's happened in my life since we found the thirteenth colony. Even with all of this, I'm a lot happier now."

"I see that. Mind you, I like the new you, but the old you was so much fun to be around."

Starbuck laughed and said, "Hey! I can still be fun when I have the chance, just not as reckless as I used to be. Back then, I didn't give a frak if I lived or died. Now…now, though, I want to live. I want to build something for the future."

"I hear you're supposed to take over for Ivanova when she dies." Apollo said.

Starbuck nodded and replied, "Yeah, I am, but I hope that's a long time off in the future. She and I have become close over the years. You could say that she's responsible for a lot of who I am these days."

Apollo sighed and said, "Ever think of Zak anymore?"

Starbuck replied, "Everyday, Lee. Everyday. I still regret what I did. Damned thing is I had to learn not to let my emotions get to me when I'm training someone with the death of the man I loved." Starbuck began to tear up and Apollo hugged her.

"Hey, hey, hey! It's okay! I've forgiven you, and so has dad!" Apollo said as he embraced her.

"I've still not been able to forgive myself, Lee! And I don't know if I ever can!" Starbuck replied while sobbing on his shoulder.

"He'd be proud of you, I know that! You've become a lot more than I could have ever imagined for you! And I always thought you'd take over the _Galactica_ and not me!" Apollo said with a laugh.

Starbuck laughed through the tears and asked, "How's Dee?"

"She's fine. She's a lot different these days too, with her responsibilities as a member of the Quorum."

"Never imagined she'd be in that position, to be honest!"

"You never thought about it? What about her? She told me a few days ago that she's still amazed to be on the Quorum, even though she's been on it for years."

Starbuck caught the sight of David Sheridan walking her way and she said, "Well, looks like I've got to go!"

Apollo turned and saw the son of John Sheridan approaching and said, "Yeah. It's been great catching up with you, Kara! I've missed talking to you!"

"Same here, Lee! See you on the flip side!" Starbuck said as she hugged Apollo one last time, then let him go and watched him walk away. He turned to wave at her and she returned it, noticing as he walked towards the spaceport that he had wiped a tear from his eye.

"Something the matter, Starbuck?" Sheridan asked.

"Nah, just catching up with an old friend. You know Apollo, don't you?"

"Indeed I do! Dad always said he was someone that he hoped I grew up to be like!"

"Well, you've become a pretty good young man in your own right. But it's nice to have role models anyway! So is the ship ready?"

"Ready at your command, Anla'shok Na!" The Minbari translation of Ranger One was the old title of the head of the Rangers, but when Jeffery Sinclair was installed as the first Entil'zha since Valen, Ranger One had become the position of the second in command. For years, that had been Garrison Hollifield, at least unofficially, since for a good deal of that time he was also vice president, then later president, of the Earth Alliance. When Susan Ivanova took the position of Entil'zha, Hollifield had given over the title of Anla'shok Na to Starbuck to help in the process of grooming her for Starbuck's ascension to Entil'zha many years in the future.

As Starbuck and Sheridan headed to the shuttle which would take them into space, Dee Dualla and Apollo were having a tearful goodbye of their own. Dee would be staying behind on Kobol while her love would be heading towards their old homeworlds. She embraced him and cried on his shoulder, not wanting to let go but knowing she had to. The intercom inside the spaceport terminal announced that Apollo's shuttle was boarding and would be launching in ten minutes.

"When this is over and you come back to me, I want to get married!" Dee said.

"When I do get back, Dee, the first thing I'll do when I see you is propose!" Apollo said, his voice heavy with emotion.

"I wish I was going with you! Damn responsibilities!" Dee cursed.

"I wish you were going too! Sampson's a great communications officer, but not nearly as good as you are!" Apollo said.

The intercom announced that the shuttle was almost finished loading and would launch in five minutes. "May the Gods go with you Lee!" Dee said as she pushed her lips up to meet his, kissing him passionately. A moment later, they broke the kiss and Apollo reluctantly departed away from his love, but not before wiping a tear from her eye. She stayed strong for him as he walked away, turning back to look at her as he made his way to the loading gate, but once he was out of sight, the tears flowed like a river and she sat down in one of the nearby seats and waited until she was able to gain some of her composure before walking back to their home.

Apollo hid the tears well enough, and they were gone when the shuttle landed in the starboard flight deck. As he departed the shuttle, his father came up to him and said, "Ready to take back our home, son?"

Apollo smiled and said, "Yes I am, dad!" The older Adama smiled proudly and let his son lead the way to CIC. After all, it was his son's ship now.


	77. Behind Enemy Lines

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Seventy-Seven**

**Behind Enemy Lines**

While the fleet was preparing to launch, three small black triangular ships were flying around the Cyrannus system, home to the Twelve Colonies that were now occupied by the Cylons. One ship contained Galen, Dureena Nafeel, and the Gideons. The second contained Alwyn, G'Leel, Entil'zha Ivanova, General Cain, and Ranger Na'Toth. The third was piloted by Andromeda, and contained the Hollifields, Dr. Gaius Baltar (along with Six, although only Baltar, Garrison, and Andromeda could see her) and Gina, who had taken the last name of the woman who had been the model for her clone, Godfrey. Each ship also had a selection of specially trained special operations personnel, some of which were human Cylons.

From the time of their revolt during the battle in Earth's orbit to now, the human Cylons had been sequestered at the secret base on Marcab. Baltar, along with Six and the others, had worked to help the human Cylons become fully independent of the programming instilled inside of them, and had succeeded beyond anyone's reasonable expectations.

The second-generation clones were now fully operational, as were the third generation clones. Through the eight years of working with them, the human Cylons had developed their own identity, independent of their masters. They felt shame for what had happened, and, once freed of their programming, had decided to rebel against their creators by helping the Colonials regain their Colonies.

Andromeda's ship landed on Tauron, roughly fifty kilometers away from the main settlement on the planet, Tauronopolis. There were smaller settlements around the planet, but life was hard on this world because of its distance from the star at the center of the system. They landed in a small valley around a group of hills to the south of the capital and began to make their plans to stake out the city.

Andromeda asked of Garrison, "You sure you want to travel down this road in this weather?" The clouds in the morning sky were thick, and a rumble of thunder was heard overhead. The chill in the air made it possible for a mix of precipitation on this day.

"Sure as I can see the nose on my face. These people have been trained well, and they've been through stuff like this before."

"That may be true, Garrison, but you're not exactly a young man these days! Seventy three is not an age in which to be making long marches, especially one in which you're facing an enemy that's as well armed as the Cylons are!" Andromeda replied.

Twanissa came over after hearing Andromeda's concerns and said, "I understand your worries, old friend, but we need him to pull this off. Believe me, if I didn't think he could handle this, I wouldn't have come along with him to help him out."

"And why are you here? You're not exactly young yourself, and your area of expertise is in commanding starships, not ground forces!" Andromeda said.

"If my husband is going to die on this world, I want to be with him and fall alongside him. Besides, someone needs to keep an eye on him!" Twanissa replied.

Garrison sighed and said testily, "Look, are we going to get going or not? The others are getting a little restless, and we are sort of out in the open, after all!"

The two women looked at each other and Andromeda said, "He'd better come back alive, or I'll never forgive you!"

Twanissa nodded and said, "He'll come back. He's too stubborn to die!" Both women laughed at the remark, which didn't elicit amusement from the former Earth Alliance president. Andromeda headed back into the skies to spread more microscopic probes all along the path, to which the forces would use the data from them to analyze what the mechanical Cylons were up to. Once that was done, she would sneak more special operations personnel into the valley so that they could set up this landing site for the full commencement of the operation.

"I wonder why the Drakh haven't been able to detect those ships. They use the same types of Shadow technology, do they not?" Baltar asked as they ate dinner that night in their shelter.

"They use the tech, but not all tech is created equal. The Drakh may have helped the Shadows with their wars, but as we found in the plague crisis, they aren't adept at using the technology as the technomages are. It also doesn't help that they are arrogant pricks who assume that all the technomages are safely tucked away in their hideout." Hollifield replied.

"I'm grateful that you kept Gina on the ship with Andromeda. I wanted you to know that." Baltar said, changing the subject.

"Gina's never fully recovered from the abuse she suffered on the _Pegasus_. Why expose her to the rigors of combat? Besides, she's safe as long as she's with Andromeda. Andromeda may play the part of an old witch, but she's still got many years left in her."

Baltar nodded and asked both Hollifields, "Do you think we'll get out of this alive?"

Twanissa shrugged and said, "If we do, we do. If we don't, we don't, but the operation goes on. Besides, if my husband falls, Ivanova'll be pissed and really make those machines pay! If you knew her like I did, you'd know how true that is!"

Garrison chuckled and added, "Almost makes me want to die here, because she'd be damn sure to win this war then! But if it's all the same to you, I'd like to keep breathing for a while longer."

After they finished dinner, Baltar retreated to his tent and got into his sleeping bag to rest. He could barely sleep though, scared at what the next day might bring. Six came to him and asked, "Are you scared?"

"No, of course not! What made you ever think that?" Baltar said sarcastically, but his words were shaky as he said it.

"You need not fear, Gaius! I'm with you! I'll always be with you! You've done so much to help my people!" Six said, trying to reassure him.

"But what can that do to make up for what I've done? What can any of it do? I killed over twelve billion people!" he said.

"You didn't kill them Gaius, and neither did I. It was those machines that did it, manipulating me to manipulate you. It can't bring them back, but we can build a new future for them."

"You know that the Colonials aren't coming back here, don't you? Even with all that's been done, how can you repopulate a dozen worlds with less than fifty thousand people? It can't be done!" Baltar exclaimed.

"All things are possible, Gaius! You just have to have faith."

"I thought that you didn't believe in God anymore!" Baltar said.

"Not the Cylon god, but there is a God. I don't know how to put it in terms you can understand, so all I'll say is that I believe that there is a higher power watching over us. You may or may not believe in God, but I know that He believes in you!" Six said.

"Well, he'd better, because I have no idea why I'm here and what I'm doing! I should have stayed on Earth!" Baltar said as he broke down into tears. Whereas before she would have scolded him for weakness, she simply held him and spoke to him softly as he fell asleep.

The next morning they began their march to the capital. This group wouldn't attack the city itself, but would gather intelligence and set up traps that would hinder the enemy's response to their eventual assault, which would be less than a week from beginning. They walked down a trail through the woods, about five clicks from where they had landed.

Suddenly, gunshots rang out, and they all hit the dirt. "Centurions! They've set up an ambush! Hit the deck!" yelled out one of the special ops assigned to their group. Baltar grabbed his gun and settled in beside the first lady, who had been separated from her husband when they ducked for cover in a ditch beside the trail.

They managed to take out the three Centurions who had attacked them from a couple of small caves on the side of the hill. "All clear!" someone yelled, and Baltar got up with Twanissa and began to walk over to the others when Six yelled and pointed, "Gaius! There!"

From below, a Centurion sneaked out and walked up the hill, training his gun on the first lady. "NO!" Baltar yelled and pushed Twanissa down, standing over her and pointing his PPG rifle at the oncoming Centurion. Before he could aim, the Centurion opened up on him and shot him half a dozen times before Twanissa was able to take the attacker out with her rifle from her prone position.

"Medic! We need a medic!" Twanissa said as she tried to stem the bleeding, but she knew it was too late. Garrison, belying his age, raced over and squatted down over him. "It's too late. He won't make it." Garrison said resignedly.

"Mr. President!" Six called out. Garrison looked over to her as she squatted down over the body. "Thank you for everything!" She faded away as Baltar's life ran out.

On board Andromeda's ship, Gina was awakened by the downloading program from Six, and she rushed out of her room and over to where the technomage was resting. Andromeda answered the door and said, "What is it, Gina?"

Gina's eyes were filled with tears as she said, "He's gone! She's gone! Gaius is dead!" She threw herself into the arms of Andromeda, who embraced her and soothed her as best she could.

"I know, my dear. They're both at peace now!" she said to Gina, patting her on the back and taking her over to her bed so that they could talk.

Back on Tauron, they hastily dug a grave for Baltar. "He saved my life!" Twanissa said shakily. "He pushed me out of the way as that Centurion was taking aim at me!"

Garrison nodded and said, "Hopefully he'll have some brivari with Londo in the afterlife, because those two were made for each other. As for those of us who are still breathing, we'd better keep moving. My telepathy didn't pick them up until it was too late, but I know what to look for now, so hopefully we'll be able to sniff out future ambushes before they take place."

"I hope so. It's too late for Baltar though. Damned shame." Twanissa said to her husband, then called out to everyone else, "C'mon people, we've got some walking to do! This area's prime ambush area, so the sooner we're out of here, the safer we'll be. Let's move!" They gathered their gear and headed off towards Tauronopolis.


	78. Laying The Foundation

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Seventy-Eight**

**Laying The Foundation**

Galen knew that Herazade and the rest of the Circle that led the technomage order would be highly upset that he, Alwyn, and Andromeda had allowed Hollifield and his allies to construct ships using the same materials that the mages used to build the ships that would land the troops on the Colonial homeworlds. He didn't really care, though, as he never had any intention of seeing her or any of those in the hideout ever again.

Galen's ship was inside the transport shuttle, heading towards the plateau that would give them an excellent view of the main settlement on Picon, where the Colonial defense headquarters was once located, but now housed the force of mechanical Cylons on this world. Foolishly, the Cylons had nothing on this high plateau, which gave them the perfect position to launch an offensive against the enemy.

Their forces could not take down the Centurions one-on-one, but they had no intention of letting it get to that. Hollifield had gotten a commitment from the Earthforce Marine Corps for as many troops as he needed, and Galen had a significant force of jarheads ready to go when Admiral Adama launched his attack. However, Galen had some other ideas to beat the enemy before the head of the Colonial fleet jumped into the system.

"You sure you want to do this?" Dureena asked.

Galen nodded and said, "I know that using the spell of destruction carries a lot of risk. I haven't used it since we were on the _Excalibur_, but I think I could handle it now."

"But what if you aren't able to? You could destroy the entire settlement if you're not careful!" Dureena replied.

"Trust me, Dureena! I'll be careful!" Galen said calmly. Dureena still looked haunted, and he didn't blame her, because he had a hard time trusting himself.

Over the years, Galen and Alwyn had thoroughly doused all twelve planets in the system with microscopic probes, and those probes had found their way into the headquarters of the Cylons on Picon. All he would have to do is pick the right targets and cast the spell, but not get so caught up in casting them one by one. If he did, he didn't know if he would be able to stop.

While all this was going on, the special ops forces were creeping their way close to the settlement. They had managed to avoid Centurion patrols easily, because they were hardly more than cursory. Had the probes not been showing him otherwise, Galen would think that they were setting them up for a trap. But the Centurions were almost exclusively corralled behind the settlement walls, and there weren't nearly as many of them as he had expected. He wondered if the Cylons were just arrogant or incompetent, or if they were planning something else somewhere.

Night fell on Picon, and Galen and the others knew that they would be moving within twenty-four hours. Adama had sent them a coded transmission informing them that they were ready to jump when Galen gave the signal. The marines set up the PPG artillery cannons on the plateau, which would rain down destruction onto the base. The special ops forces converging on the settlement from several different directions were armed with PPG rifles and bazookas, as well as all sorts of other armaments to cause havoc to the enemy.

Galen ate dinner with Dureena, Matthew and Elizabeth Gideon beside the campfire. They were all quiet, because they knew that at daybreak they would be starting the offensive. Matthew breached the silence by asking Galen, "You don't have to use the spell if you don't want to, you know?"

Galen sighed and said, "I know, but we need it if we're to accomplish what we want to do! If I didn't think I could control it, I wouldn't have even brought it up!"

"You were able to control it when we made that final offensive against the Drakh, but that was almost twenty years ago now!" Elizabeth added.

Galen was getting a little upset about all of this, but he managed to calm himself before he spoke. "I understand your concerns, believe me, I do! But please, trust me on this! If you've ever trusted me before, trust me now!"

All three of them looked at each other before Matthew said, "Okay. We trust you to do this, Galen. Just know when to stop if you find yourself about to lose control, okay?"

"I will, Matthew!" Galen replied.

As dawn began to break, Galen stood at the edge of the plateau and activated the sequence of probes he had devised for what he had planned. The first was right in the heart of the base, where the IL-series Cylons were housed. He had found out that they were the ones who led the Centurions, and he had decided to take off the head before going after the body.

As luck would have it, several of the IL-series machines were meeting at that moment, discussing the deposition of forces on the planet. They were worried about an invasion, not knowing that one was already underway. As they were about to adjourn, Galen cast the spell in his head and a ball of energy grasped five of the IL machines inside of it and slowly began to crush them as it contacted.

The machines were at a loss as to what was going on, which made Galen's job easier. He counted to ten, focusing on calming his mind before launching another spell and taking out even more of the IL-series machines. By the time Centurions had come into the room, all the IL Cylons were being crushed inside the rapidly condensing balls of energy. When the first one imploded, it knocked the Centurions over, and as the others began to do likewise, the Centurions were unsure as to what was going on.

"Now!" Galen called out, and Matthew ordered the PPG artillery to open up on the base. Massive plasma burst flew from the cannons and hammered into the settlement, creating havoc inside the base. Wherever a group of Centurions gathered, he crushed them inside his spheres of destruction, always making sure to count to ten to calm his mind before launching another one.

Suddenly, he saw in his mind's eye that the basestars above the planet were launching raiders, and they were heading towards the planet. "We've got incoming, Matthew. Handle the ground attack. I'll deal with the raiders."

"Right, Galen!" Matthew said, then he turned to the artillery personnel and ordered them to concentrate their fire on breaching the defenses to allow the special ops forces to enter the city.

While he was doing that, Galen began to scope out the oncoming raiders as they headed towards the planet. Whether it was arrogance or foolishness, they were clustered together in such a way that Galen could gather two or three at a time, and he did so, crushing the autonomous machines inside his spheres and watching as other raiders flew into them without knowing any better. Galen knew he had to shorten his count if he were to get them all, so he counted to five to refocus his mind and calm himself.

Much to his surprise, he never lost control, nor did he even come close. The Cylons had launched over a hundred fighters towards the settlement, but none came anywhere near them. The basestars were out of range, but the missiles they launched were not, and Galen picked them off one by one while hardly breaking a sweat.

The special ops forces entered the breach and had a relative easy time of it. The Centurions were bumbling around, unsure of what to do. Before they could even engage the forces, they were taken out before they even had the chance to fire. When the sun began to sit in the west, the Centurions were wiped out and the special ops forces had taken the settlement.

Late the next day, Galen and the others entered the city. He could tell where he had used the spell, as perfectly scooped out sections of the ground were seen every so often as they headed towards the main headquarters. The Centurions that didn't get ensnared in the spheres were scrap metal now, and the Special Forces went about gathering them for intelligence gathering purposes.

Durenna was using a scanner to detect any human life signs, trying to find any evidence of Cylons farms. Galen hadn't seen any in his probes, but he knew that his probes might not have been able to penetrate into every room of the settlement. "I've got something!" she said, pointing northwestward. "Isn't there a warehouse of some sort in that direction?"

Inside Galen's mind, he checked a map that had been made of the settlement, and he realized that was where Dureena was picking up the life signs. "You're right, Dureena! Come on, we've got to check it out!"

They slowly entered the building, not taking for granted that there might be Centurions waiting for them inside. None were around, though. What they did find shook them to their boots. "My god! Look at this place!" Elizabeth Gideon said as she spotted the harvesting machines with survivors of the holocaust strapped into the benches.

Dureena gulped and Galen could tell she was trying her best to keep her emotions in check. "They're alive, but barely. The females have had their ovaries tapped by the machines, and the males have had their testicles hooked up for the mining of sperm."

"Can we remove them without killing them?" Matthew asked Galen.

"I'm not sure, but we should try. Wait until we get some medical personnel down here, though. I'll see what I can do with the machines to stop the harvesting process without killing these people." Galen replied, then went to work trying to stop the machines.

They were able to move the transport to the spaceport near the settlement, where the medics took a look at the situation and determined that the survivors might be able to be saved. "They're horribly malnourished and in very bad shape. Reminds me of the time in class I saw survivors of the Holocaust during World War II. Good thing Adolf Hitler never knew about these Cylons!" Dr. Horst Abelman said as he finished with his examinations. "We shouldn't move them right now. I'll set up some IV lines into them to replenish them and build their strength."

"Good, doc. Thanks." Matthew Gideon said, then turned to Galen and said, "What next?"

"What next? We get these bastards, that's what's next!" Elizabeth said, her face furious at what she had seen.

Galen looked at his love and saw the same look in her eyes. "Yes. We'll get these bastards! Evil like this can't be allowed to survive anymore!" They walked out of the facility and headed towards the defense headquarters to see what else they could find.


	79. Siding With The Parents

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Seventy-Nine**

**Siding With The Parents**

Garrison Hollifield didn't have the benefit of the spell of destruction from Galen, but he did have a very talented technomage with him. Andromeda's specialty was in creating deceptions, and she was engaged in a massive distraction as their forces made their way towards Tauronopolis. The Cylon basestars had been taken out a day ago by the _Argo_ and the _Independence_, and now were sending fighters down to the planet on strafing runs on the city. The Cylons had their hands full, as Andromeda sent pterodactyl, thunderbirds, and assorted other flying creatures to harass the Centurions. They had run out of anti-aircraft missiles in attacking these mirages, so the enemy could not do anything to prevent the Thunderbolts from strafing them from the skies.

The Centurions, or their masters at least, must have known they were in a predicament, so they decided to try a counteroffensive to throw back the attackers. All that did was make them vulnerable to another of Andromeda's schemes, as she used an illusion of hordes of oncoming troops to draw the fire of the Centurions, allowing their forces to pick them off at their leisure.

The first objective to be taken was the spaceport, and that fell with ease, as the Centurions were overwhelmed by the guerilla tactics of the special ops forces, who had among them many of the second generation clones who had not been as influenced by the Cylons as the first generation had been. They fought hard and never seemed to back down, no matter how many casualties they took.

It wasn't a cakewalk though. The Centurions had managed to outflank the southern advance and kill off almost a dozen troops before they were beat back. It had caused them a significant delay, because they were unable to enter the city until the next day.

The next day, though, they did enter the city, and the fighting was fierce. Andromeda created illusions to outfox the enemy and to distract them from creating ambushes, while Hollifield used his telepathy to snuff out any other ambushes set up on his end of the attack. His wife directed the troops as he concentrated on finding the enemy and doing what he could to hinder them before the troops had to engage them.

As they were about to round a corner, he felt the machines sitting on a rooftop, waiting for them to walk onto the street. He saw that the chimney on the roof had some loose bricks, and he decided to make use of them. He closed his eyes and focused on the bricks, loosening them further and freeing them. Once the top bricks were free, he grabbed them and flung them using his telekinetic abilities at the Centurions, who were taken by surprise and turned all of their firepower on the chimney. That allowed his people to sneak around the corner and shoot them in the back without the Centurions knowing what hit them. It wasn't very sporting, but then war wasn't a sport, so they thought nothing of taking advantage of the machines.

Street combat was what every infantry soldier dreaded, but at least these grunts had a powerful telepath with telekinesis and a highly experienced technomage on their side. It seemed that the Centurions thought that they could just run straight at the enemy and destroy them, but that arrogance was met by hot plasma burst from their PPG rifles, which were much more effective than the weapons that the Colonials often used.

The enemy retreated towards a large complex in the center of town, just down the main thoroughfare in city from the government building, which had already been liberated by Hollifield's forces. After cleaning out the enemy from the building, they soon found out why that building was heaving guarded. The advancing allied forces had captured one of the IL-series, and he had not been able to escape with the Centurions.

The machine's name was Specter, and seemed nothing like a ghost or apparition. He looked to be a very nervous machine, similar in the form of the Centurions but much smaller and not nearly as well armored.

"We'll get you for this! The Imperious Leader will see you all dead!" Specter yelled.

"We know who he is. Do you have a way of getting a message to him?" Garrison Hollifield replied.

"No, and I wouldn't even if I could! You and the Colonials won't succeed! God won't allow it!" Specter said defiantly.

"Tell us what is in that building that your forces retreated to, or else I'll rip it from you!" Hollifield said in a menacing tone.

"A mere human? Ha! I'd like to see that!" Specter said, not realizing whom he was dealing with.

Without words, Hollifield sent his mind slamming into the machine, and it visible shook at the onslaught. "What are you doing? How…?" Specter said.

"I'm not your ordinary human! Sorry to disappoint you!" Hollifield said as he invaded Specter's electronics and drove his mind towards his memory banks. He technology was relatively primitive by Earth Alliance standards, but it allowed him to get what he wanted.

"Are you going to destroy me now, human? I don't know how you did it, but you won't be able to use what you've found to defeat us!" Specter said defiantly, but with a tinge of desperation.

"Would you really like to know something?" Hollifield said.

"What? I won't buy any of your lies!" Specter said.

"We were the ones who turned your precious human Cylons against you, you bastard! How do you like that? Hmmm…c'mon, answer me!"

"Liar! You lie!" Specter yelled out.

He turned to his wife, "Twanissa, bring in the Cally clone, please!" Twanissa nodded and left the room, only to return back with a Cally model, who was in Earthforce fatigues and was holding a very menacing PPG rifle.

If Specter had a jaw, it would have fallen. "Cally, bring your rifle to bear on this human and kill him, then kill the female!" Specter demanded. Cally looked at him with an impish smile and said, "No."

Hollifield walked up to Specter and said, "See? The game is over, pal! You're about to get your ass kicked out of this system, and there's not a thing you or your Cylon God can do about it. Besides, I know who he is anyway!"

"What do you plan to do with me?" Specter asked desperately.

"Well, I've gotten all I need from you, so I'm not sure." Hollifield looked over at Cally and at her rifle, and said to her, "Cally, would you love to strike a blow for the liberty of the human Cylons?"

"Abso-fraking-lutely, sir!" she said with glee.

"Light this son of a bitch with your rifle, if you please!" Hollifield said with relish.

Cally smiled and said, "With pleasure, sir!" She turned the rifle on him and blasted away, and Specter barely had time to mutter an incomprehensible syllable before he became a thoroughly modern example of metallic Swiss cheese.

"I take it that you enjoyed that, Cally?" he asked.

"You're damned right I did! Anymore of these bastards you want me to frak up?"

"Not right now, but you'll get your chance. We've got that building to deal with, after all. Get back in your gear and head out. We'll be there to join you shortly." Cally smiled and walked out of the room with a visible skip in her step.

"Why did you frag that machine?" Twanissa asked of her husband.

"To send a message. I allowed Specter to send off one last message to Vacit before we killed him. I want him to know we're here!" he replied.

"Well, it doesn't make our job easier, but I see your point." Twanissa said as she watched her husband begin to walk out of the room. Grabbing her rifle, she followed him out.

The building was a heavily fortified fortress, which had been home to the Colonial military on this world. The Centurions were holed up inside, and had to be flushed out the old fashioned way, using tactics known to ground troops since the days of World War II, when urban combat became especially deadly. Those G.I. Joes didn't have to deal with Centurions, but they also didn't have a technomage to assist them. The battle lasted almost into the next day, but they managed to flush out the last of the metallic robots and turn it into slag.

Like on Picon, they found another farm with humans hooked up to breeding machines. "Is it like this all over the place?" Hollifield asked Andromeda.

"From what I've seen through the probes, yes. They can be saved, but they'll need plenty of medical attention. They're very malnourished."

"Well, Specter gave up his secrets before he died. Vacit's trying desperately to get more human Cylons, but he's having trouble. That's why he's stepped up the work of these farms." He turned to his wife and said, "Get some medics down here to get some IV drips going. Once they're fit to travel, I want them taken to Kobol as soon as possible."

Twanissa headed out to find some medics and Hollifield turned to Andromeda and said, "Now I know how those American soldiers felt when they liberated those camps at the end of World War II."

"I know, but I doubt even Hitler would have been capable of something this barbaric!" Andromeda replied.

"Maybe not, but Vacit sure is. He'll get his soon enough, though."


	80. Silicon Revolution

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Eighty**

**Silicon Revolution**

On Gemenon, Alwyn, Na'Toth, and G'Leel were heading up the operations there, along with Earthforce Colonel Sharon Valerii, who was in charge of the Earthforce troops assigned to the assault. One of the remaining Colonial Marines, Sergeant Lucas Venner, was there with them as well, as this was his homeworld and had asked for the assignment from former president Roslin, whom he had once helped when she was in captivity years before.

At the moment, Venner's jaw was on the ground as he looked at the golden dragons above Gemenon City, which were drawing the fire of the Cylon forces on the planet. They were a specialty of Alwyn's, as were the holodemons he had launched against the forces inside the city. Valerii, on the other hand, watched them with a smile on her face from their position several kilometers away.

"Have I mentioned how cool those dragons of yours are, Alwyn?" Valerii said.

"Now that you mention it, you haven't." Alwyn said with a twinkle in his eye.

Valerii smiled and said, "Well, they are cool, and pretty damned effective. Using them to draw their fire so our forces can take them out and gain air superiority was something they never taught at the academy!"

"Well, I've always found that the best kind of education is in the real world and not in the classroom." Alwyn replied.

Like on Tauron, Earthforce ships had taken out the basestars, and with both orbital and air superiority achieved, they set about making their advance on Gemenon City. The smaller cities on the planet had already been liberated as the Centurions had been recalled to Gemenon City to defend it. They never made it, though, as the heavy raiders were shot out of the sky by the Thunderbolts.

Entil'zha Ivanova and General Cain joined them at their field headquarters after checking with the forward commanders. "It shouldn't be long until they're out of ammo to shoot at your dragons, Alwyn. Once they can't shoot down our fighters anymore, we'll send in them in." Ivanova said.

"All part of the service, my dear Susan! When do we go in to teach those rapscallions a lesson?" Alwyn asked.

"Probably the morning after next. We'll let the fighters have at them all day tomorrow, then head in with our ground troops the next day. See anything through your probes?" Ivanova said.

"They're rattled. Those IL-series Cylons are clearly not sure what to make of all of this, so they're panicking. They're thinking about fleeing, so I would expect them to try to make a run at the spaceport." Alwyn replied.

"I'll double up on our forces there, just in case they do try to make a break for it." Cain replied and went to the communication link to inform their forces of what Alwyn had seen. Hours later, close to midnight, the Cylons tried just that, but the allied forces were waiting for them and were routed before they even came close to their transports.

The next morning, the Thunderbolts started pounding the defense building where the Centurions and the IL-series machines were hold up. The Centurions tried to break out of the city again, this time towards the harbor, but the Thunderbolts sunk all the ships that they could have used to escape. PPG artillery then began to pound the enemy with burst of super-heated plasma, melting the Centurions into slag.

The bombardment continued through the night, finally ending off around midnight. Alwyn watched as the surviving Cylons looked around their battered headquarters and were trying to devise a way to defend their base from the allies. They were heavily depleted, but still very dangerous.

The next day, they made their way into the city, and soon found themselves facing desperate Centurions heading towards them with all guns blazing. Ivanova had set up a killing zone and lured them into it one by one. It didn't take them long to wise up to that tactic, which just made them prone to Cain's flank attack that snuck in behind the Centurions and decimated them before they could even turn around and return fire.

After they overran the headquarters and interrogated the remaining IL Cylons, they headed towards the main temple in the northwestern part of town. Another firefight broke out as they approached the facility, and it confirmed their intelligence that had this as yet another Cylon farm. Slowly and methodically, they made their way into the temple, searching room by room and making their way to the sanctuary.

When they got there, they were met by the sight of not of humans breeding, but of scores of fluid-filled tubes with clones inside them. They soon found more IL Cylons and discovered that the farm was in a secret underground lab under the nearby medical center.

Like on Tauron and Picon, they had found scores of men and women emaciated and weak from the machines that milked them of their sperm and eggs respectively. Carefully, they took them off the machines and hooked up IV bags to them to help them gain enough strength to survive the moving process. They also gained the locations of other farms around the planet, and Ivanova sent forces to liberate those farms.

The day after, Ivanova and Cain were walking out of the medical facility in a very sober mood. They had managed to save most of them, but several were not able to make it. Ivanova broke down suddenly and sat down on a nearby bench, unable to contain her emotions any longer.

"What's the matter, Susan?" Cain asked, looking very concerned.

"It's seeing those poor souls hooked up to those machines. I know it's hard for you to understand how I feel. Only a Jew would really understand how I feel." Ivanova said.

"About the Holocaust?" Cain asked, having studied enough of Earth's history to understand what that was.

"Not just that, but all the pogroms and all the hatred my people have suffered over the centuries. Being Russian doesn't help either, because the Russian people have seen unthinkable cruelties as well. God knows I think I'd be used to stuff like this after all I've been through, but those poor people…" Ivanova wiped more tears from her eyes as Cain sat beside her.

"I've never seen you like this before." Cain remarked.

"Well, I tend to keep my emotions locked tight. I've learned the hard way not to let them out." Ivanova replied.

"That's not really the best way to handle stuff like this. Hiding it inside just leads to a blow up later on." Cain advised.

"I know, I know, but it's hard for me to trust anyone."

"Do you trust me?" Cain asked.

Ivanova nodded and said, "Just give me time, okay? I may appear to be strong on the outside, but inside, I'm still the same fragile Russian girl that I've always been."

"I know the feeling. I'm the same way, except I'm not Russian!" Cain said. The two women laughed at that and Ivanova's mood seemed to rally. "Ready to head back to the barracks?"

"Yeah. I'm fine now, thanks." Ivanova got up and they walked back to where they were staying inside the city. They had managed to restore power and water to the place, so living there was manageable, albeit still difficult. Three worlds had been freed, and the main thrust of Operation Supernova had yet to be launched.


	81. Operation Supernova

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Eighty-One**

**Operation Supernova**

Admiral William Adama knew about the farms that the Cylons were using in an attempt to breed new human Cylons, but when he saw the survivors of those farms, something deep inside him began to rage. As he stood beside his son in the Command Information Center going over the latest reports, he told Apollo, "We have to win this war. If not to bring back our people, but to bring justice to those bastards who created those farms!"

Apollo nodded and said, "I think the whole fleet wants that, and not just those of us from the Colonies. I can imagine the Earthers are outraged by this as well."

"You bet your ass they are! Since Picon's been liberated without our help, I've decided to get a little closer to Caprica." Adama told his son.

"Leonis?" Apollo said, and his father nodded his head. "Makes sense. In its current orbit, it's close enough to launch a full-scale assault on Caprica. So when do we take down the basestars?"

"Soon. I've decided to change the game plan a bit, to really give us the element of surprise, and Earthforce has decided to go along with it. Instead of conquering one world at a time, we're going to simultaneously hit all the other nine worlds that we do not have control over. We have the starships to do just that, and it'll give us time to bring in more ground troops to do the more difficult job ahead."

Apollo nodded and said, "The Vipers are ready to go when you need them. I've been drilling them myself when I have the chance. And the ground pounders are ready to go when you need them. Do you have the latest intel from Leonis?"

Adama handed him a folder containing a thick stack of papers. "Damned thing about those technomages is that they're thorough. Look them over and come up with a plan to take the planet by tomorrow at 0800."

Apollo snorted and said, "I haven't crammed this much stuff into my head since war college."

"Well, this class is on a pass-fail basis, and passing isn't going to be easy. Head back down to your quarters and get some rack time, then study up on those plans and let me know what you want to do."

"Yes, sir! I'll get right on it!" Apollo said, nodding to his father as he left.

Lt. Col. John Matheson of Earthforce, who had once been Adama's second in command after the Battle of Babylon 5, had signed back on to be Adama's liaison for the operation, and joined the head of the Colonial fleet at the map table in the center of the room. "Just got word from the other ships, sir. They're about six hours from getting into optimum range for the attack."

Nodding, Adama said, "Good. I suspect that they don't see us coming?"

"No sir! Your idea of taking out any hyperspace beacons they set up seems to be working like a charm. They've built their forces up a bit due to the attacks on Gemenon, Tauron, and Picon, but not nearly enough to face what we're about to launch at them."

"Is Starbuck ready near Caprica?"

Matheson replied, "She is indeed, sir. She wanted to inform you that she's changed the plans up a bit and will be using the Whitestars to make some strafing runs at the forces they have on the planet instead of against the basestars."

"Really? Tell her that she has my approval for her change in plans and good thinking on her part." Adama ordered and Matheson walked away to send the message off.

Six hours later, all the ships linked in and informed Adama that they had reached the pre-assigned locations to launch the attacks. _Galactica_ was about to jump into orbit around Leonis along with Colonial battlestars _Andromeda_ and _Olympus_. Warlock-class destroyers _Thor_, _Xena_, and _Venture_ comprised Earthforce's contribution to the assault on this world, and Omega-class destroyers Birmingham, Sheffield, and Melbourne joined them. Several Whitestars also comprised the Leonis task force and would assist the fighters in taking out the Cylon raiders.

Adama looked over at his second Matheson and asked, "Still no sign of Drakh ships?"

"None at all. We've suspected that their forces may be diminished from their previous levels. The Centauri have been hammering them on other fronts, so intel looks to be right about them being unable to send any forces our way." Matheson replied.

"Doesn't hurt my feelings that they're not here for the party. We'll deal with them in time, though. As for now, we launch in ten minutes. Inform the fleet." Adama said.

"Yes sir!" Matheson replied and went to contact the fleet.

"Action stations! Set condition one throughout the ship! Power up the jump engines and prepare to jump on my command!" Adama ordered. The FTL drives _Galactica _had were still available, but Adama preferred the element of surprise that the jump engines gave him. They had been installed after the battle around Earth almost eight years before, and they gave the intensely overhauled battlestar another way to surprise the enemy.

In the eight years since that battle, the remaining ten Colonial battlestars had been completely overhauled and fitted out with the latest in Earthforce defense technology. Galen Tyrol and Apollo had worked on the design of the new Mark X Vipers, which were a match for even the versatile Thunderbolts, especially when it came to atmospheric maneuvering. As Adama looked around at the CIC shortly before he gave the command to launch the operation, he remembered how ancient that the old _Galactica_ had been. It still had that intimate feeling of home, but with a major makeover.

This was the moment that he had never thought would come. It was closing in on eight years to the day when the Cylons launched their attack that wiped out the Colonies. At that time, it had seemed unthinkable that they would ever reclaim their homeworlds. Now, though, the hour had come. They had already taken three of their worlds back, but it was a tenuous beachhead at best.

He looked at his watch and saw the second hand tick down to zero hour. He looked over at Matheson and said, "On my mark, Mr. Matheson!"

He remembered the twelve billion souls lost in the nuclear blasts. He remembered his ex-wife, even though they had been torn asunder by his commitment to the military. He remembered the friends that had been lost. He remembered the village he had grown up in that had been wiped out. He remembered all those on his ship that had lost family and friends in the attacks, and the feeling that they were all that was left of humanity, and that the light of their race was dimming out, and that they would be extinguished soon enough.

Now, the light was to be lit again. "Jump!" Adama ordered, and the jump engines on _Galactica_ powered up and formed a vortex back into normal space. The massive battlestar raced out from hyperspace and fired at the closest basestar with her bow particle cannons, ripping into the hull of the Cylon ship.

"Launching raiders!" Abernathy over at the tactical position called out.

"Launch the alert Vipers!" Adama ordered. Moments later, the Mark X's were racing out towards the enemy, joined by Thunderbolts off the _Melbourne_. They split off into two forces and went to flank the enemy fighters, leaving the middle to _Galactica _and _Melbourne_'s pulse cannon batteries.

"Set defense grid for long range dispersion fire! When those raiders get into range, tell the batteries to fire at will!" Adama ordered.

"Sir! The _Andromeda_'s just hit the reactor on the basestar they're attacking! One down!" Matheson called out.

"Three more to go! Are we in range for our missiles?" Adama said.

"Yes sir! Missiles ready to fire on your command!" Matheson replied.

"Launch a full volley at that basestar! Let's get this over with!" Adama said with relish, and Matheson complied with the order. From the eight missile tubes on the bow, Earth-designed missiles with conventional warheads blasted out and headed towards the enemy basestar. Their high yield warheads slammed home and opened a huge gash in the basestar.

"Sir! Their reactor's exposed to space! One volley from our bow cannons and we can destroy the basestar!" Abernathy informed the admiral.

"Target their reactor and fire at will!" Adama ordered.

The particle beams flared out and shot their beams of energy towards the breached basestar. Seconds after the beams hit the exposed reactor, it blew like a Roman candle, and the explosions rippled up through the spokes and shattered the basestar into scores of chunks of debris.

"Two down!" Adama shouted, pumping his fist in a rare show of emotion.

"Three down, sir! _Olympus_ just took out another one!" Matheson announced.

"What about the other one?"

"It's heavily damaged! Wait! It's powering up its FTLs! It's trying to flee!" Matheson announced.

"Tell the _Thor, Xena, _and _Sheffield_ to take that basestar out at all costs! I don't want them getting away!" Adama said loudly over the buzz inside CIC.

Abernathy scanned the enhanced DRADIS system and saw that the basestar was having trouble with its hyperdrives. "Sir! Engines on the basestar going critical! Our ships are moving away! Chain reaction in progress!"

The basestar shook as the reactor breached and sent the explosive force through the hull, ripping the ship apart from within. The last of the basestars blew apart in a dramatic explosion, leaving only the Cylon raiders and a scant number of heavy raiders remaining.

Once the remaining enemy fighters had been taken out, Adama recalled the Vipers and turned command of CIC over to Matheson. He quickly made his way down to the launch bay, where his son was prepping the next phase of the operation.

"Admiral on deck!" Apollo called out when his father entered the flight bay. The assembled ground pounders came to attention, and Adama looked them over for a moment before saying, "At ease!"

"You men and women are about to embark on a highly dangerous mission! A mission that many from my worlds have only been dreaming about! Some of you are from the Colonies, but most of you are from Earth. The hopes and dreams of my people are going with you as you depart. Go down there and kick some Cylons ass for us!" The grunts yelled excitedly when Adama finished and the old man smiled and walked towards his son.

"Son, be careful down there, okay?" Adama said.

"I'll do my best, dad! Regardless, we're going to kick their asses out of this system!" Apollo replied.

Adama looked over at the enthusiastic troops and said to his son, "I think if they'd heard you, they'd agree wholeheartedly with that sentiment!" He hugged his son and said, "Gods go with you, Lee!"

"Gods go with you, dad!" Apollo replied and Adama smiled and walked away. Before he left the deck, the admiral turned to see his son and the troops he commanded board the transports that would take them down to the surface. He walked off the deck and managed to compose himself before heading back to CIC, but he still had to discreetly brush a couple of tears from his eyes.

On the other worlds, the operations had been just as successful. Starbuck's forces had a harder time around Caprica, but managed to take down the dozen basestars and two motherships, which gave them what they had wanted to achieve before mounting the landing operations: stellar superiority.


	82. Stellar Supremacy

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Eighty-Two**

**Stellar Supremacy**

Lee "Apollo" Adama was crammed into the shuttle like a sardine with all the other ground pounders on board. Rank held no special privileges in terms of better seats, except for the pilots. Normally Apollo would have preferred to be seated up there, but the two Earthforce Marine Corps pilots were well experienced with piloting the transport into hostile territory. So he contented himself with being squashed into his seat, the gravity of the descent forcing his body to lean against Earthforce Marine Corps Staff Sergeant John Angle, who was leaned against Sergeant Angelique Morineaux.

Angle looked like a linebacker from American football: stocky, muscular, and ready to pounce. Morineaux seemed to be too lithe to be a Marine, but she was a martial arts expert and current Marines judo champion, so her skinny frame was quite deceiving. Her nickname was "Bloody Ballerina", because she looked like a ballerina but was one of the best fighters in the force.

The anti-aircraft fire was taken out by the Mark X Vipers and the Thunderbolts, who ran interference for the shuttles and cleared the way for them to land at the designated landing site. Despite their attempts to suppress the anti-aircraft fire before they attempted the landing, they still had to contend with a lot of flack being flung at them from the enemy.

They made it to the landing site without incident, although three Vipers were damaged in the landing. They did manage to land on the runway that had been hastily created by the special ops forces that had been snuck onto the planet before the full operation was launched. As the shuttle bumped to a landing, Apollo ran one last check of his gear and piled out with the others.

As fate would have it, they had to hurry for cover as three Cylon heavy raiders came over the hills to the east and launched an attack on the base. The shuttle went up from being shot up by the Cylons, but all personnel had managed to escape the vessel before it was destroyed. The base commander, a Ranger named Droshonn, ordered damage control teams to put out the fires and to drag the remains of the shuttle off the runway. The tall Minbari female towered over Apollo as she approached, but she bowed deep as she introduced herself to the others. "Welcome to Leonis!" said Droshonn, "I apologize for the rude welcome by the enemy, but they've been rather canny since we got here."

"That's understandable. Have you seen any Centurions around?" Apollo asked.

"Several, but we've been able to beat them back. We've deployed sensors around the perimeter, so we have more than enough warning before they attack. We're still trying to figure out how they surprised us with this attack. They may have flown low over the hills, just at tree top height, to get the drop on us. We've only been here for a couple of days, so we've not been able to fully deploy everything as we'd like to have done." Droshonn replied.

"Sounds like that's what they did to me. How many people do we have here already?" Angle asked.

"About a thousand. We've set up the portable barracks and other buildings over next to the hillside there. We're expecting another Whitestar with more troops soon, then we'll be ready to commence the operation."

Apollo asked, "When they do land, let me know so I can determine when we'll be ready to move out!"

"As you wish, Apollo. It's an honor to serve under your command!" Droshonn said.

Later on, Apollo and Angle were sitting in the mess tent, chowing down on some dinner. The food wasn't the greatest in the world, but it served the purpose of filling their bellies. "I doubt the chefs in Paris could make this taste any better!" Angle said with a rueful chuckle.

"Beats the canned stuff we'll be eating soon enough, though!" Apollo added as he forked in some Salisbury steak.

Angle nodded and said, "I've been in a field enough to know that's the truth! I'm grateful this stuff's hot and the java's strong!"

"Any news about what the weather will be like for the attack?" Apollo asked.

"It's supposed to be sunny and cool. Not the kind of weather that I ideally like, but those metallic Centurions will have a hard time hiding from us!"

"They'll be able to see us though." Apollo said cautiously.

Angle shrugged and said, "Well, that's the risk you take in this business. I'd rather see what I'm shooting at than not."

The Whitestar landed without much difficulty a couple of hours later, commanded by Samuel Anders. He got off long enough to run up to Apollo to brief him on the latest. "We've just taken back Canceron and Libron, Apollo, and landed on Aquaria and Virgon."

"Damn good news! How's Kara?"

"She's doing good. They've cleared the way at Caprica and will be landing shortly. It's going to be a lot more complicated, because they are heavily concentrated on the world. You know Starbuck, though. She's ready for a fight!"

"You tell her to take care of herself, and you take care of her, okay?" Apollo said as he extended his hand.

Anders shook it and smiled, replying, "I'll do just that, though I can't guarantee that she'll listen to me."

"That's for sure! Catch you on the flip side!"

"You too, Apollo!" Anders said and headed back to the Whitestar to supervise the disembarkment of more ground troops as well as taking the few wounded they had away for medical care. Within the hour, the Whitestar was streaking into space, but not before making a strafing run on several batteries of anti-aircraft guns that had opened up on them as they landed. Apollo nodded with approval at Anders' tactics, which weren't bad at all for an old pyramid player.

The Cylons chose that night in an attempt to make a raid on the base, but were dispatched before they came close by those on watch. The others had been awakened by the alarms anyway, so Apollo rushed over to the headquarters to find out what was going on. "Sir, I think they believe that we're about ready to launch our operation, so it looks like they made a spoiling attack to try and soften us up." said Midoron, another Minbari Ranger who worked at the base.

"I agree with you, but it won't help them. We're moving out tomorrow, so they'd better get their punches in while we're stationary. Come the morning, we'll be on the move and headed towards their main base near the spaceport." Apollo replied.

"We're expecting some support from the fighters in the morning. _Galactica_ and the other ships will be their Vipers and Thunderbolts to go along with our ships. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to rock and roll come the morning!" Angle said.

"Rock and roll? What the frak's rock and roll?" Apollo asked with a laugh.

"We get through this, Apollo, and I'll introduce you to some classic stuff from centuries ago. It may be old, but it's still damn good stuff! C'mon, though, we'd better get some rest, because we sure won't be getting any come sunrise!" Angle said.

They managed to get three or four hours sleep before the sun rose above the eastern horizon. Apollo got washed up before the dawn broke, having not been able to sleep much the night before. After the grabbed some breakfast, they assembled and began to march away from the base, broken up in a plethora of different groups. Some would head down to smaller settlements to liberate them, but Apollo and Angle's group were headed towards Leopylae, the capital of Leonis. No one knew exactly what they would face when they arrived there, but Apollo was confident that they would succeed. Whether he survived or not didn't matter, because as long as the Colonial worlds were freed, it would be worth the cost of his life.

He thought of Dee, though, and missed her terribly. He hadn't expected to fall in love with her, but fate had a way of throwing curveballs at you. If things had gone as he had expected, he might have been with Starbuck, but now she was with Anders and never would be more than a close friend to him. It was fine, though, because he had fallen for Dee hard, to the point that he had her picture in his breast pocket to remind her of him. He had promised her that he would return to marry her, and he would be damned if the Cylons would stop him from fulfilling that promise.


	83. Apollo's Journey

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Eighty-Three**

**Apollo's Journey**

Apollo slipped the hood over his head as the rain started coming down and glared over at Staff Sergeant Angle, who smiled and shrugged at his commander. "Never said I was a meteorologist!" Angle said with a chuckle. Apollo shook his head and was about to call for a halt to give his troops a ten-minute break when bullets started flying through the air. The experienced troops hit the dirt and dug in, searching around to find who was shooting at them.

A GROPOS, short for ground pounder, shouted out in pain, and Angle called out, "Drinkwater, you hit?"

"Nah, Sarge! Just hit my fragging nuts on a rock when I hit the dirt!" the Native American called back as he grimaced in pain. He managed to right himself and ready his rifle for the oncoming forces.

"Ouch!" Angle said as he lay beside Apollo. "I've done that a time or two! Anybody know where they're coming from?"

"From that terrace on the side of the hill, sir!" called out Bambi "Bubblegum" Holden. She had the looks of a supermodel but the grit and guts of a hardened veteran, and was a hell of a demolitions expert as well. She got her name from being able to put an entire bulk package of bubblegum in her mouth, which led the grunts to secretly wonder what else could go in there. "You want me to fry those bastards with some thermal grenades?"

"Go ahead, Bubblegum! Let those tin cans have it!" replied Angle. Bubblegum took out her grenade launcher and loaded it with high-explosive thermal grenades. She dug out a little rut to lay her launcher on the edge of the foxhole she had made and scoped out three Centurions heading off the terrace and down the hill towards them. She locked on the middle one and fired, catching the Cylon right in the chest and blowing him up along with the other two, who were caught up in the explosion as well as the flying debris from the middle Cylon

The Centurions still on the ridge swung their fire Bubblegum's way, and she called out, "Sarge, I need some cover fire!"

"Hang in there, honey! Sakimoto, get your guys to draw their fire!" Angle cried out.

The Japanese corporal ordered his troops to fire at the Cylons, which provoked the Cylons to swing their fire his way. Angle waited for Bubblegum to open up on them again, but her pit stayed silent. "Bambi?" he called out to no answer. He turned to Apollo and said, "Cover me! I'm going over there!" Apollo swung his rifle at the Cylons and opened up on them, distracting them from Angle as he left the foxhole to go over to Bubblegum's position. Apollo kept it up, hoping the plucky young woman was okay, but fearing the worst. When he heard Angle scream out, his worst fears were confirmed. Angle pushed the body out of the way and took up the launcher and shot grenade after grenade at the terrace, causing a series of explosions that took out the remaining ambushers.

When the firing ceased, Apollo hopped out of his foxhole and sprinted over to Bubblegum's position. Angle held her as her eyes looked up to the heavens, with a perfect bullet hole right between them. "Bullet must have gone right through the dirt. Hope she never knew what hit her." Angle said sorrowfully.

"Gods go with her!" Apollo said softly. Angle nodded and ordered some medics to take her back to base camp, where her body would be shipped back home. "That's the damned thing about this job! Losing good people like her…"Apollo shook his head.

"Yeah." Angle said absently. "Hell, I hate losing the jackasses and morons, now when I think about it!" He looked over to the troops and yelled out, "Form up and move out! We'd better wait a little while before taking a break until we're clear of this position." No one argued or even grumbled, as they were still a little rattled by the attack.

The rain subsided as the sun began to set in the west, and Apollo called for a halt for the night. Angle supervised setting up a defensive perimeter and a watch detail, then sat down beside Apollo and broke out his mess kit. "I've had beef stew so much in these rations that I can't even stand my mom's stuff anymore, and she makes some damned fine beef stew!" Angle said.

"I never had the chance to ask you where you were from." Apollo replied.

"San Antonio, Texas. It's a big city out in the western part of North America, and a damn fine one if I do say so myself. My dad's family's originally from Mexico centuries ago, and have been living there since before Texas seceded from the Mexicans. My mom's originally from Alabama, and her family has been there since they were shipped over from Africa back in the 1800s. Hell, I've got so many different ethnicities throughout my family's history that it's amazing!" Angle shook his head and continued. "My wife's family's been there forever too, but she's got a motley mix of Swedish, Russian, Japanese, Thai, Egyptian, Greek, and so much else. They used to call the old United States the 'melting pot' and we're living proof of it."

"Got any kids?" Apollo asked.

"I've got eight of them, man! I made damn good time of my extended leaves, that's for sure!" Angle laughed as he said it. "Four sons and four daughters, from seventeen to nine. My mom and dad are both retired, so they baby-sit and my wife works as an accountant, so they'll be okay financially should I meet a bullet in the wrong way. You got a wife?"

"Nah, but I am engaged. I made her a promise to marry her once this is all over with." Apollo said, thinking of Dee.

"You best keep that promise, you hear? I've seen too many guys and gals who made promises like that and not be able to keep them, and I'd rather not see another, if it's all the same to you." Angle replied solemnly. Apollo nodded, getting the meaning of what was said and taking it to heart.

Angle continued by saying, "I've seen too much in my years, man. I started out just before Santiago got killed. I had to put up with all the crap that Clark put out and managed to get through the whole civil war back home. It was bad, man. When things finally went down, we had to storm Washington, DC with Hollifield and his forces to get rid of Clark's protégé in the White House. Not exactly spirit lifting to have to storm the place where presidents have lived for almost half a millennium."

"I kind of guessed you've seen a lot. I could tell it from your eyes." Apollo said.

Angle looked at him as he chewed more of the unappetizing beef stew and said after he swallowed, "You've got a similar look. Not quite the same, but you'll probably have it by the time this is all over with."

"How do you deal with all of this?" Apollo asked.

Angle shrugged and said, "You just do, man. You just do. I've seen men and women die a lot in my career, and it always hurts." He shook his head as he remembered Bubblegum. "She had such a great future, too. She was going to go back to college and go into teaching when her tour of duty was over. Now she's dead, and her husband and two daughters back in Florida are probably just getting the news.

"I can't imagine what it'd be like to almost lose it all, though. What you folks have been through, man! I can't imagine what it would be like if we ever lost Earth! We've come close a couple of times during my time in the Corps. The plague years were especially difficult, because I was on Earth and didn't expect to make it. But we did, thanks to Hollifield."

"You must look up to him, I take it?"

Angle nodded and went on, "He's been the best thing that could have happened to Earth after the civil war. I served with him during the telepath war. When have you ever seen a vice-president fighting side by side with you? That's what Hollifield did. He's not one of those who stayed behind the lines and led, but went right at the enemy. He's just like Sheridan, in a way. We've been blessed with some damn fine leaders, that's for sure!"

As they marched on the next day, getting ever closer to Leopylae, Apollo and the troops grew ever more cautious, anticipating ambushes as they neared the capital. Despite their caution, they were attacked twice in skirmishes that cost them three dead and five wounded. However, they managed to sneak up on a Centurion position where a couple of score of the mechanical robots were based and wiped them out with hardly any return fire. They used the position's own defensive systems to beat back a counteroffensive that night.

Apollo and Angle managed to get a little bit of sack time before the dawn broke on the next morning, and they prepared the troops for the final march onto the capital. They checked in with the other forces converging on the city, and were happy to learn that they hadn't taken any heavy losses at all. They had been diminished because of the attacks, but not nearly enough to force them to retreat. They would march to the outskirts that night, then rest before making the final push into the city the next day.


	84. Apollo's Rising

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Eighty-Four**

**Apollo's Rising**

Apollo ducked behind the building and loaded a new energy cap into his rifle, checking his vest to be sure he had plenty more on him. Once satisfied he had plenty, he turned his rifle to its highest setting, ducked down, and swung around the wall, blasting one of the Centurions coming down the street towards him. He scored a head shot and the Centurion toppled over like a domino, and Apollo lucked out as the robot's body spun around, with the guns on its hands blazing, and shot down two other Centurions.

Others were coming down the street as well, so Apollo scrambled out of his position and headed down the alleyway towards the fortified position where Angle was stationed at. They had managed to get three hundred yards inside the city before they met heavy resistance. "They're coming down Astra and heading east!" Apollo called, and Angle nodded, reaching for the communications link to call in artillery fire onto where the Centurions were located.

They ducked down inside the subway station where they were held up and listened as the plasma pulses started landing onto Astra Avenue. Chunks of building, asphalt, and Centurion started landing around their position shortly thereafter. When the barrage ended roughly five minutes later, Angle sent some of his troops up to check to see how many Centurions had survived.

When Corporal Sven "Spike" Johansen returned to the subway stop, he reported, "We didn't take any fire when we went onto Astra, so it looks like we got all of them."

Angle grunted and called out to the others, "Let's move!", then picked up his rifle and lead the way. Apollo followed behind him, keeping his head on a swivel in order to react should a Centurion surprise them and open fire.

As luck would have it, they made it all the way to the building where one of the major talk wireless stations was formerly housed before taking fire again. Leonis Wireless Network was an empty building now, but it served the purpose of giving them cover from a half-dozen Centurions that had surrounded the building. Thus began a complicated game of hide and seek, with the rules being quite different from the childhood variety on Earth.

Angle and Apollo split up the team and scattered throughout the building to set up firing positions. Apollo shot out a window without aiming at anything, then ducked down behind some file cabinets as his shot was soon followed by a torrent of bullets hitting and shattering the same windows. The Centurions were joined by a dozen others and tried to move on the building, but were beaten back by Angle's forces remaining on the ground floor.

Apollo scattered out his forces throughout the building, instructing them to set up sniper positions throughout the building. He assigned two of them to a room and let them construct the blinds where they would pick off the Centurions. One would draw fire while the other would line up the target and take it out.

Whether it was arrogance, stupidity, or both, the Centurions stubbornly stayed in the street, trying to scope out where the GROPOS were in the building. One by one, they were taken out by Apollo's troops. When they had eliminated them all, they sent out a scouting party to make sure. After they returned and reported that the coast was clear, Angle moved the troops out towards the center of the city, where the main government building was located.

Day turned into night, but the fight continued nevertheless. Sniper positions were set up to protect their defensive positions, while raiding parties ventured out to scout out and hinder any possible ambushes in the darkness. Apollo caught some sleep, but he wasn't sure just how long it had been that he had dozed off. Not worrying about it too much, he got up from where he had lay down to sleep, grabbed a quick bite to eat from his ration pack, and made his way over to Angle.

As morning dawned, they met up with other troops who were, like them, converging on the enormous government building in the center of the city. Troops were already engaging the enemy there, so it was tricky business getting close to the building, because the Centurions had gun emplacements on the roof as well as in several windows.

"Damn! It's gonna be a bitch to smoke those tin men out!" Angle called over to his communications officer and got his troops to pull back and let the artillery troops have at it. It wouldn't completely take care of the problem, but it would force the Centurions to keep their heads down long enough to allow the closest troops to storm the lower level of the building once the barrage ceased.

The toll had been heavy, as they had lost fifty people in this operation already, with another seventy-three wounded. Apollo knew that they had lost more in the outlying areas, but he thanked the Lords of Kobol that it hadn't been nearly as bad as he had feared it would. Urban warfare of any kind was the worst kind of combat, but it was made all the more difficult when the enemy you faced wasn't flesh and bone but made up of metal and circuitry.

The storming of the building was expensive anyway, with five grunts going down as they entered it. Through his headset, Apollo could hear the combat taking place, and his mind sent images of what his ears were picking up. He knew soon enough that he would be entering the building with his own troops, and it would be long odds if he would be able to get out.

Angle's men entered the building through the back entrance and made their way down a stairwell towards the basement, while Apollo's did the same from the front entrance. Intelligence had determined that the main operations took place below ground, so that had been where Apollo and Angle had decided to lead their part of the attack. Special ops forces, using some top-secret equipment, searched out booby traps and sensors and deactivated them as they found them. The equipment that they Cylons used was sophisticated for Colonial tech, but the stuff the Earthforce troops and Rangers used beat the Cylon gear hands down.

Just because they had superior gear did not guarantee perfection, as Angle found out when he was surprised by a Centurion who had cleverly concealed himself inside a closet and fired at him from point blank range. Angle managed to swing his rifle around and take out the Centurion, but he was unable to prevent the mortal wounds from being inflicted upon him. He staggered back and slumped to the floor. Apollo called out for a medic, but he knew it was too late. He had no time to mourn his friend as he took command and lead the troops deeper into the base.

Some time later, they had managed to take the building. Apollo was so far down inside that he didn't know if it was day or night topside, but he did know that the fight was over here. They rounded up the IL Cylons and took them away, while the special ops scoured the computer systems for any and all bits of intelligence they could find.

None of the farms were inside the city, but they did find out the locations of several in the rural areas of the planet. Apollo dispatched forces to liberate them and bring back any survivors as well as those who hadn't made it. Once that was done, he called up to his father on _Galactica_ to tell him of their success.

Finally, Apollo managed to collapse into a corner of the building after grabbing some grub to fill his belly. Relief troops were coming in to take over, so he would be departing as soon as the sun rose up. In his slumber, he dreamt of Dee on their wedding day, and how lovely she would look in her wedding dress.

He was just about to kiss his new bride when Corporal Shon Dinsmore shook him awake. She told him that he was needed at the medical facility immediately, and he got to his feet and followed her out through the quiet streets of Leopylae towards the hospital where they had set up a medical center.

His jaw dropped when he saw Angle lying on the bed, very much alive. "Who would've thought I'd survive something like that?" he said weakly.

"How…?" Apollo asked.

"Don't ask me! Ask God or the Lord of Kobol or Valen or whoever runs this bloody universe! All I know is that I'm here and breathing, so I'm not going to complain about how they managed to keep me alive!" Angle said.

The medical officer, a Tunisian named Dr. Nafid Najeed, spoke to Apollo, "Sergeant Angle needs his rest, sir. We'll have him transported to the _Galactica_ with the other wounded as soon as we can stabilize the remaining patients."

Apollo turned back and said, "See you on the ship, Sarge!"

"Damn straight you will, sir!" Angle saluted him and Apollo reciprocated the gesture. Apollo managed to get through the rest of the day without thinking of it much, but when he lay down to sleep in a room of an abandoned hotel that night, he wondered how the gritty Texan had managed to survive.

Such thoughts were put aside the next day when Admiral Adama landed on the planet and looked over the battered city. "Good work, son! You and Sergeant Angle will be commended for your efforts, as well as all the troops!"

Apollo nodded, not really moved by the commendation, and said, "We lost a lot of good men and women here, though. We did the best we could, but we paid a high price."

"War's hell, as an Earth general once said. But their deaths won't be in vain, not if I have anything to say about it! We've still got a lot of work to do, though."

"That we have, dad. That we have!" Apollo replied.


	85. Cain's Discovery

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Eighty-Five**

**Cain's Discovery**

The mission that General Nelena Cain was leading to Sagittaron was personal. Sheba, her daughter, had died here, and she wanted revenge. Over the course of eight years, whenever doubts would creep up about accomplishing the task of freeing the Colonial worlds, she would take out the picture of her daughter and look at it. She was on the verge of being a bride and having a family, which meant the world to her. All Sheba wanted was the kind of stable life that Nelena and Sheba's father couldn't give her. Cain felt guilty sometimes about choosing the military over her family, but always seemed to feel that it was for the best. Sometimes she wished she'd have been vaporized along with Sheba and the rest, but she would always come back to the notion that the gods had placed her here for a reason, that being to help liberate the Colonies of Kobol.

The shipyards where her former ship, the _Pegasus_, had been stationed when the attacks took place were still around and in use. The quick striking Whitestars attacked it and launched boarding parties to take it away from the Cylons. The battle had been intense and violent, and they had paid a high price in casualties for the boarding, but, in the end, it had been successful.

Cain and Entil'zha Susan Ivanova sat in the conference room, going over the intelligence reports and plotting where they would make the landings for the invasion of the planet. From what the probes that the technomages had planted all over the world showed, the Cylons were held up in the five major cities of the planet. Ivanova would lead the assault on the capital, Sagittaron City, while Cain would lead the forces that would try to liberate the coastal city of Ascella, where Sheba had lived before the attacks.

"Those mountains will be difficult to get around." Ivanova said to Cain, pointing to the topographical map of the planet. "And for getting through them during this winter!" Ivanova said as she shook her head, "It looks more the Alps back on Earth!"

"Trust me, I know of a path that'll get us through. It's one that's only known to hikers, so it's quite possible that the Cylons haven't discovered it yet. Even if they do, it's worth the risk of ambushes, because it'll bring us out into Rukbat Forest, which abutts the city and should give us good cover from the Cylons." Cain replied.

"How sure are you that the Cylons aren't there as well?" Ivanova asked.

"I'm not, but it seems to be the best way to get in there with the bulk of my forces. I'm sending two smaller flanking forces around the mountains to draw the enemy away, as well as hitting the city with fighters coming in from the Nunki Sea. It won't be easy, considering how spread out the city is along the coastline, but I know the general layout of the city from my visits to see Sheba."

Ivanova nodded uneasily, but still couldn't get the worried look off of her face. Cain noticed that and asked, "Something bothering you, Susan?"

She visibly gulped, looking clearly nervous. To Cain, it had the look of 'Oh frak! I don't think I want to have this conversation right now!'. "Come on, Susan! You can tell me! We've been friends for years!"

Ivanova rallied her courage and said, "I just don't want anything to happen to you, Nelena! It's just…how I feel about you!"

Now it was Cain who felt nervous. They were close friends, but several times over the years it had seemed like that they were very close to going beyond that, but one or the other would retreat ever so slightly back. "I know. It's just…it's just that, right now…it's not the right time. When this is over…"

Ivanova said, "I understand. I…uh...I need to go see Sgt. Ramirez to discuss the plans for the capital. I'll see you later, Nelena!" Ivanova managed to walk out of the room with some decorum, but Cain could see that she was barely able to avoid bolting from the room because of her fears. When she departed, Cain sat down in her chair again and exhaled a long-held breath, but the butterflies in her stomach refused to settle down.

Ivanova and Cain both had bad track records when it came to relationships. Cain's marriage had been good at first, but it was clear that her husband couldn't handle having his wife away for months at a time. Looking back, Cain realized that it was almost inevitable that her husband would look to someone else for affection. Sierra Dolus hadn't known that Gregory Cain was married to Cain, so she didn't know that she was helping him commit adultry.

When she did find out, she ended the affair, saying she couldn't stomach being someone's mistress. Gregory yelled at Cain for finding out, and Cain yelled back at him for lying. Cain had tried her best to keep Sheba out of it, but Gregory wanted to use their daughter as a weapon against her.

It inevitably backfired on him in the custody battle. Cain won it despite being in the military, and asked her mom to watch over Sheba while she was away on duty. Norman tried to go back to Sierra, but she didn't want anything to do with him anymore.

Things went from bad to worse when Gregory snapped due to the rejection from his mistress. One night, he broke into her house and killed Sierra, then took his own life. The incident made the tabloid headlines and caused young Sheba, who was in middle school at the time, considerable grief.

As if things couldn't get any worse, she was ambushed by some female thugs while walking home from school one day. They demanded her gold necklace that she wore around her neck. When she refused to give up the family heirloom, the thugs proceeded to beat her up so badly that she almost died from the attack. Had it not been for a couple of male pyramid players intervening as they turned the corner and onto the street, Sheba might very well have expired from the savagry.

Cain was rushed from her assignment to be with her daughter, who had to undergo surgery to relieve pressure on the brain. It had been a miracle from the Gods that Sheba hadn't suffered any permanent damage to her brain, but it would take years of therapy for her to overcome the psychological trauma she had suffered that day.

It was all the more heartbreaking that her daughter was taken from her after she had finally found love with Norman Abel and was about to get married when the attacks happened. All that hard work to help Sheba find happiness had been wiped out in the nuclear holocaust.

When the day came to head down to the planet, Cain put away her sorrows and got to the shuttle. The landing site was on a plateau on the other side of the mountains from Ascella. The Cylons managed to sneak out some anti-aircraft armaments and fired them at the approaching ships, but the Thunderbolts and Vipers took out the missiles before they came close, then proceeded to put paid to the batteries that had fired them.

After strengthening their defensive perimeter around the landing site, Cain and her forces moved out two days later. Two smaller task forces moved away to flank the city from the north and south, while the force Cain would lead would come into the city from the west, through the mountains and the forest. They would be advancing in early spring, where the mountains were still threatened with the occasional snowstorm if the air stayed cold.

Fortunately for them, the weather held off, so the worst that they had to deal with was freezing temperatures overnight. That and a few ambushes set up by the Centurions, one of which produced a flesh wound on Cain's left shoulder. After the firefight ended, the medic stitched her up without local anesthicia and she kept going along with her troops.

Once out of the mountains, things eased up a bit. Cain reckoned that the Cylons decided against attacking in the forest because the leaves had not grown back fully enough yet to provide adequate cover. She judged that they were waiting for them inside the city, so she broke up her forces into smaller groups to enter the city from several different areas of the forest, using smaller hiking trails that she had known about from her daughter, who loved to hike.

By the time they had advanced fifty yards into Ascella, the Centurions opened up on them. Cain's advance towards a medical center in the western part of the city was blunted but not stopped. Using thermal grenades and PPG bazookas, they took out position after position that the enemy used to hold them back. Still, as the sun set on the first day inside the city, they were still a good four hundred yards away from the hospital.

The second day saw more considerable progress achieved by Cain's forces. The troops that she had sent out to flank the city had finally arrived and the Centurions had no choice but to thin out their forces to meet the new attacks. Cain made a bold move by calling in fighters to bomb a main thoroughfare leading to the medical center, giving them a chance to run around the Centurions through some side streets and make their way to the entrance of the center.

Inside the building, the fight was especially grueling as it went from room to room. Apparently the Cylons had gotten wise to the attacks on their farms, because the Cylon drones and their IL-series masters were now equiped with weapons. It did them no good though, as they were quickly dispatched once their Centurion bodyguards had been taken out.

One of the sergeants came up to Cain and informed her that they had found a harvesting facility in the basement of the hospital. Cain followed the burly soldier down the stairwell and into the room. She was about to turn back and order the sergeant to bring in the medics to help take them out of the machines when she spotted her out of the corner of her eye.

She had gotten considerably older and thinner in the years she had been hooked up to the machine, but she recognized her daughter nevertheless. Cain rushed over to her and looked down at her daughter, brushing her hair back and gently asking, "Sheba?"

The woman's eyes opened and she was clearly straining to focus them on the person standing over her. She struggled to say something, managing to grunt out, "Mother?" before she gave up.

Cain called for the medics to rush over and try to help free her daughter. It didn't look good from what she could see for Sheba, who looked so thin that her skin looked like a cover for her bones, a stark contrast to the shapely beauty she had once been.

The medic, a Dutchwoman named Monica van Hoorsten, scanned Sheba with her medical scanner and said to Cain, "We need to get her out now! She's extremely malnourished and dehydrated. We might be able to save her though." Cain assisted and helped free her from the machine, then held her daughter's hand as van Hoorsten inserted an IV line into her.

Two days later, things took a turn for the worse for Sheba. Despite everything they did, she got an infection and a fever raced through her. Cain prayed and prayed that they could save her daughter, and the medical teams went above and beyond to save her, but it was for naught.

When Sheba finally passed away, her mom was at her bedside, crying and hoping the Gods would welcome Sheba into the afterlife. The medics gently escorted the general out of the room after some time and brought her to the room she had selected for her quarters. They gave her sedatives to help her sleep, which she gratefully accepted. As she dozed off, the sorrow turned to anger, and, in her dreams, she dreampt of ripping the heads of Centurions off, one by one. All the progress that she had made in dealing with what she had thought was her daughter's passing had been destroyed on this day, but she made a promise to herself and to Sheba that she would stay strong and bring justice to the Cylons for Sheba and the others.

The next day, Sgt. Arturo Romario walked into her room at her invitation and asked, "Ma'am, we're ready when you are to move out! Are you sure you are up to this?"

Cain understood why he had to ask, and she reassured him by saying, "I'm fine, Sergeant, or as fine as you can be given the circumstances. Time to pay these bastards back, don't you think?"

Romario replied, "The troops are ready when you are! We're ready to move towards the town center at your discretion, general!"

Cain nodded and said, "Then let's go! The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can move onto Caprica and rid this system of these bastards!" She picked up her pack and rifle and told the soldier, "C'mon! Let's go!" They left the room and were soon leaving the center and heading east towards the center of the city. Even if it cost Cain her life, she was resolved to make them pay for taking her daughter away from her.


	86. Cain's Vengeance

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Eighty-Six**

**Cain's Vengeance**

Part of Nelena Cain wanted to die and be with her daughter, but another part wanted to live for her friend Susan Ivanova. Her emotions were under lock and key at the moment, though, as she kept her cool and squeezed the trigger on her PPG rifle, turning the Centurion in her sights into a pile of scrap metal. Her first shot had taken off the machine's head, and her second blew a sizable hole into the chest of the robot.

Her troops were held up in two buildings, which stood at forty-five degree angles to the oncoming Centurions. The intersection where they were at looked like a peace sign from Earth from up on high, but there was very little peaceful going on. As the troops on her right side drew the Centurion fire again, she took aim at yet another one and slammed a heated burst of plasma into the machine's neck, sending the head flying and the torso reeling back towards the ground. Quickly, she ducked back inside to avoid the stream of bullets headed her way. Her chin, though, caught a fragment of the building that had been shot off and she was cut deeply. A medic rushed over, having seen it and her reaction to it.

Cain would have rather not had stitches put in her chin, but she bore up to the pain as the medic quickly did his work, then went back to his rifle and opened up on more Centurions. Cain ignored the pain on her chin and went back to work, sizing up another target and blasting a hole into it. Her rifle's energy cap was drained, so she took it out and put a new one in. While she was doing that, she took out her Geiger counter to check on the radiation levels. The anti-radiation patches they were using these days were better than the ones previously developed by Earthforce, and it did help that the technomages had helped Earthforce develop ways to reduce the radiation levels on the Colonial worlds to help make this invasion possible. She hadn't understood how it worked, but she knew that her radiation patch hadn't needed to be replaced in the week and a half she'd been on this world.

When the Centurions retreated due to being outflanked by another part of her force, she ordered everyone out of the building and east towards the city center, where the main headquarters of the Cylons was located. Their next objective, however, was a residential tower that gave the Centurions an excellent position in which to rain down fire onto her advancing forces. After ducking inside an abandoned restaurant and using the facilities, she cleaned herself off as best she could and joined the troops she was dispatching to sneak into the building and take out any Cylons inside.

Much to her surprise, no Cylons were inside the building. She had come to the conclusion that the Centurions had a way of just coming at them with brute force instead of using more proven military tactics. If she had been in charge of them, she would have had Centurions set up in several rooms to overlook the area and take out the approaching enemy from their superior location.

She wouldn't make that kind of mistake. Her troops entered the building and began to scope out the area. From the eastern side of the building, she could look out towards their final objective, the Sagitcorp building, where the Cylons were located. Here, they eschewed the local government buildings for this fairly modest skyscraper. That didn't mean they were not using those buildings for other purposes, as Cain found out from the reports streaming in from other parts of the city. More farms were discovered in those buildings and liberated, which pleased Cain. Anyone that they could recover alive was a blessing, and Cain intended to help as many of them as she could.

As night fell, she assigned troops to stand watch as the others got some rest. She undid her pack and collapsed on a bed inside one of the apartments. She activated her communications link and called Ivanova to see how things were progressing in Sagittaron City. Ivanova's forces had left at roughly the same time as Cain's had, but they had a much longer journey than the general had to reach the capital, so they had just arrived there and began their incursion into the city.

Ivanova reported in, "We're just now entering the university campus. They were holed up in the bell tower, so we took it out and denied them that firing position. How are things with you?"

She hadn't told Ivanova yet of finding her daughter, so she took this time to do it. "Oh my God!" Ivanova said, "I'm so sorry, Nelena!"

"What better motivation to kill these bastards than for Sheba! You should have seen her hooked up to that machine! She was so thin and emaciated!" Cain said, not hiding the emotion and tears in her voice.

Ivanova's voice was also tearful as she asked, "Where is she now?"

"She's back at base camp. When this is over, we'll bury her. Right now, this fight has become even more personal for me!"

"Just remember that we're here to help you, Nelena. Don't forget that you can't beat them all on your own!"

"I know, but thanks for the reminder. I have to remind myself that this is far from over."

They talked for a while longer, and she clicked off and caught a few precious hours of sleep. When morning came, the Centurions decided that they wanted the residential building after all. The firefight was intense as the enemy tried to advance on the building, but they were unable to use their cover to their advantage as thermal grenades were shot down where they were hiding, blowing their cover up.

Even though they could see the Cylon headquarters from where they were, it was another two days before they could reach it. All the Centurions had been recalled to it for one last stand there. Cain called in some artillery units to plaster the building with bolts of hot plasma, and soon the building had plenty of smoldering holes in it. The barrage ceased when her forces were in place to rush the building. She called in the 183rd Airborne unit from Earthforce to land on the roof of the building and attack downwards through the building as her forces stormed the entrance and began to attack the enemy up from the ground floor.

It was brutal and bloody, and she lost a lot of soldiers in the firefights, but, in the end, they persevered. The last Centurions were caught up behind the counter in a seventeenth floor cafeteria and taken out. When it was over, a strange silence fell over the place. Cain entered the cafeteria, as those wounded were being stretchered out. "It's over?" she asked Sergeant Christian Volpe, who was in charge of this particular unit.

"Yes, General Cain! The other forces report all opposition has ended inside the building as well as outside in the city. A few Centurion stragglers tried to sneak up on Takanama's unit, but she and her gang took them out with only a couple of minor injuries. We've freed the city for you, ma'am!" Volpe replied in his Creole drawl.

Cain nodded and left the area, heading back towards the residential building where she had set up her headquarters. Once she had completed her duties for the day, she managed to get to her room in time to collapse onto the bed and cry herself to sleep. Holding in the pain had been hard for her, as it would be for any person who lost a child. What was all the more damning was that Sheba had been pregnant at the time, according to the report from the coroner on board the EAS _Lisbon_, which had been one of the Omega-class cruisers assigned to the Sagittaron task force.

Cain left part of her task force behind and headed out with the rest towards Sagittaron City. She commandeered some shuttles from the spaceport in Ascella and flew her troops back towards the landing site, where they rested up for a couple of days before heading out to lend Ivanova's forces a hand in their final push towards the headquarters of the enemy on Sagittaron.

Before she left Ascella, though, she stopped by her old apartment for a brief visit. Glass was splattered about still, and a thick layer of dust covered everything. She collected a few small things before departing for the spaceport. One of the things she took with her was a small photo album with her mother, herself, and her daughter featured in the pictures inside. It was about all she had left of her past, and she kept it on her person as she marched away from the landing site and towards Sagittaron City. It would serve as a reminder of why she was doing this, and motivation when her fears and her doubts got the best of her. It would also be nice to show Ivanova those pictures when the battle was over, providing they managed to survive it.


	87. Justice for the Fallen

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Eighty-Seven**

**Justice for the Fallen**

The battle for Sagittaron City was brutal and taxing for both sides. The Cylons were throwing everything they had into the fight, calling in every Centurion they had on the planet to the city to hold off the rising tide of defeat facing them. The humans were now two miles inside the sprawling city and approaching the Cylon headquarters inside the Sagittaron parliament building from several different directions.

Entil'zha Susan Ivanova thought nothing of using the PPG rifle she had, nor did she think twice about wearing the more traditional human uniform rather than that of the Rangers. There was a time for wearing the flowing robe, tunic, and trousers of the leader of the Anla'shok, but this wasn't one of those times. For her, she felt more comfortable wearing the duty uniform she was used to from her youth.

General Nelena Cain had joined her now, along with part of the force that she has used to liberate Ascella. Their headquarters, for the moment, was a posh hotel in the center of what was a fashionable district of the city. They picked out a suite for their billet as well as their office.

Throughout her third night there, Cain was used to hearing the gun shots from the intense fire fights as the Centurions had taken to trying to ambush their positions during the night. Sensors as well as night vision equipment helped them beat back the enemy, but not without a price. Four died on this night and five more wounded, and it became clear that the Centurions had decided to try and wage a war of attrition on the allies.

To the two women in charge of the operation, the toll was taking a lot out of them, especially on Cain, but they drew strength from each other. They didn't speak of it to each other, but the two were working together as one in this operation, even to the point where they were finishing each other's sentences without even noticing.

Three days later, the weather gave them a chance that they relished. A major blizzard was coming in, and the Cylons knew that they were in trouble. In a desperate move, they tried everything they could to weaken the allies, throwing themselves at them with attack after attack. They had gotten smarter, but they still had a tendency to be too aggressive, which worked right into what the allies wanted them to do.

Ivanova and Cain decided to use some probing attacks of their own to divert the enemy to their true intentions. It also helped keep them away from some critical transports coming in to help them deal with the coming blizzard. When it struck a day later, they were all wrapped up warm and tight in their winter combat gear, while the enemy had plenty of problems with the weather.

They began their assault during the height of the snowstorm, using thermal grenade launchers to destroy some Centurions and disorient others, which were taken out by the PPG bazookas used by the Earthforce Marines. The allies were making a hard push from different directions towards the central command building, with Ivanova and Cain carefully coordinating the assault as they maneuvered along with them. They stormed into nearby buildings, taking them over and then moving on to the next one, establishing positions to cover their advance and attack the enemy.

When they made it to within visual distance of the parliament building, they stopped and waited for night to fall, when the really hard part of the storm would strike. They were cold, tired, and worn down, but they were also feeling the momentum pushing them forward, as they began to feel that victory was closing in. The two commanders made sure not to get too far ahead with their plans, because even now the tide of battle could turn against them.

It didn't, however, as they launched their offensive on the parliament building in the middle of the night, as the snow blew around them furiously thanks to tropical storm force winds. PPG bazookas and grenade launchers blasted the entrances and opened the hole for the troops to run through, which they did as they flowed into the building like a river, rushing into the ground level and making their way inside.

The fighting was close range, which tended to favor the humans, as they used shape charges to blast open doors and disorient the Centurions, cutting them down before they had the chance to get back on their feet and attack the intruders. The Centurions did give the allies plenty of casualties, but it was clear that they were losing the fight.

No surrender came from the Cylons, and neither woman wanted one as they pressed the fight. Sometime during the afternoon of the next day, the last of the Centurions inside the building were wiped out. Ragtag elements made themselves known as they tried in vain to get inside the parliament building to repel the allies, but they were smashed before they even came close.

Sagittaron was freed at last, but the price had been high. Almost a hundred had been killed and close to two hundred had been wounded, but they had been successful. Cain broke down when she was informed that the last of the Cylon resistance had been beaten back, and Ivanova hugged her and let her cry on her shoulder, letting the tears soak her shoulder despite the chilly weather.

Occupation troops came in soon enough to hold the fort and allow Cain and Ivanova to proceed to the next objective, which would be Caprica. Along with Aerelon, it remained the only planets left that hadn't been liberated. Both were heavily fortified and both would be difficult to take, so they plan was to go after the big piece of the pie first, then go after Aerelon as the finishing touch.

Before they left, there was one last painful duty that Cain had to perform. In a beautiful meadow near the landing site, they had picked out a place to bury Shelly Barbara "Sheba" Cain. It was on a little knoll overlooking a river at the entrance to the valley. The Marines had found a slab of concrete and carved out a tombstone for Cain's daughter, while others found a coffin in an abandoned mortuary for the body.

It was raining when they brought her body to the gravesite. Six Marines attired in their dress uniforms were the pallbearers and, after a short but emotional ceremony, they gently laid her into the ground. Before they started filling in the grave, Ivanova led Cain away from the resting place. As they walked back to their transport, the rain stopped and the sun broke just barely through the clouds. Cain looked up and said, "It's fitting, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?" Ivanova asked.

"The sun came out to welcome Sheba to heaven! In a way, it brings me peace!" Cain said, and Ivanova hugged her tight, walking with her to the transport.

As events were coming to a close on Sagittaron, a massive fleet was approaching Caprica. On board the _Neroon_ was Starbuck, who commanded the fleet. David Sheridan served as her second and would command the ship when Starbuck landed with the invasion forces. Accompanying Starbuck was Garrison and Twanissa Hollifield, who would help her coordinate the fight all over the planet.

Meanwhile, the last planet, Aerelon, was being scoped out by another invasion fleet, led by Admiral Adama and his son Apollo, who commanded the _Galactica_. The Cylons that had escaped the other worlds had managed to land there and prepare for one last stand to keep the Colonial homeworlds.

The Cylons were on the ropes, and the allies were moving in for the knockout punch. What remained to be seen would be the price they would pay for landing it.


	88. Coming Home

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Eighty-Eight**

**Coming Home**

Eight years.

Eight years since she was last here. Back then, she had come back to find her lover, Samuel Anders, and bring him and the rest of the resistance movement back to _Galactica_. Now, they were coming back, to reclaim their home from the machines.

The Cylons had decided to make Aerelon and Caprica their last stands. Apollo was leading the attack on Aerelon as Starbuck's fleet was jumping into orbit of her former homeworld. The Cylons had jumped in two-dozen basestars in a last ditch effort to hold on against the rising tide of defeat.

Thousands upon thousands of fighters were launched by the basestars, heading towards the approaching allied fleet. Starbuck had been expecting this and gave the command to launch fighters. Thunderbolts, Vipers, and fighters from the Minbari, Narn, and Centauri ships flew out of their capital ship homes and raced towards the approaching enemy.

Starbuck looked impassive as she watched all of this going on, but inside her mind, thoughts churned like clothes in a washer. She couldn't get her mind off her friend Sue-Shaun being hooked up to one of those egg-harvesting machines in one of those Cylon farms. Having seen those farms on some of the other Colonial worlds only added fuel to the fires of righteous rage inside her, and she wanted to beat the Cylons ever the more since her own eggs had been taken from her.

In the eight years since she'd last been there, she'd changed a lot, grown a lot, and learned a lot. When she went to Caprica to retrieve the Arrow of Apollo, she didn't care if she lived or died. Frankly, she didn't care about much of anything. She'd been betrayed by the only person that really mattered her when she found out that then-Commander Adama had lied about knowing where Earth was. She didn't really care if she got the arrow or not, because she knew she'd probably get killed anyway.

The farms began the change. She'd been shot during an ambush from the Cylons and taken to one of the farms with the intent of getting her pregnant with a Cylon child. She had managed to escape, but not before her left ovary was taken from her. Even now, she wondered if anything became of those eggs.

She wasn't thinking of that at this moment, because missiles were being launched by the basestars and they were setting off the radioactive alarms on the ship. Before she could even give the order, David Sheridan targeted the incoming missiles with their forward beam weapons and destroyed the ones heading to them. The other ships in the fleet followed suit and soon all the nukes were taken out, never getting close enough to go off.

The basestars launched heavy raiders, and Starbuck guessed that this next tactic was an attempt to board the allied ships and use their Centurions to thwart the attack. They may have had the sheer numbers, but energy weapons tended to take away that advantage. Soon enough, the boarding parties were no more, reduced to floating chunks of debris in the vacuum of space.

Starbuck's mouth stretched to a predatory grin as she watched the basestar that was growing bigger in her sights with every second. When David Sheridan coolly said that they were within range, Starbuck took pleasure at ordering him to open fire on it. The powerful beams shot out of the four turrets on the bow of the ship and slammed into the basestar, cutting open a sizeable tear into it and exposing the interior to space. That wouldn't matter to the machines, though, but it did mean that fuel and power lines inside the massive ship were being severed.

Other ships surrounded the basestar and began attacking it like wasps going after a large dog, with the old Whitestars flying around and hammering away at it from angles that the bigger destroyers couldn't get to. The basestar's fighters tried to double back and fight off the fleet, but they were taken out from the rear by the allied fighters and from the front by the rear batteries of the larger ships.

The reactor was breached and the ships moved away to a safe distance before the basestar blew up. The Cylon raiders kept on fighting after their base ship was knocked out of the fight, but they didn't last long in the wake of being overmatched by the Thunderbolts and the Mark X Vipers.

The twenty-four basestars lasted a good hour in the fight before the last one was reduced to a floating hulk in space. The reactor was still going, but the machine was a useless piece of junk. Starbuck's fleet had suffered hardly a scratch, but the news of losing a dozen Thunderbolts and fifteen Vipers sobered her up. At heart, she was still a fighter pilot, and she still felt the sting of seeing a fellow pilot getting killed by the enemy.

Once orbital superiority had been achieved, the next phase of the operation was about to take place. The landings were to take place in three days time, with Thunderbolts and Vipers making sorties down onto the planet for reconnaissance and to launch attacks on specific targets. Whitestars were sent in when a large target needed to be taken out on the surface.

Helo's Whitestar plunged down into the atmosphere of the planet and struck the main spaceport near Caprica City, the de facto capital of the Colonies. The Cylons had plenty of heavy raiders at the military base adjacent to the spaceport, and looked to be preparing to load Centurions onto them for the invasion. Despite the anti-aircraft fire being directed at his ship, Helo and his crew took out each one of the heavy raiders as well as the raiders not already in the sky. The ones that were, and subsequently attacking his ship, he left for the fighters that had followed him down.

The landing site that Starbuck's forces would be using to mount their assault was a familiar one to her: Delphi Union High School. It was located in the suburbs of Delphi City, and had been overrun by Centurions before the special ops team took them out and established a perimeter around it. Anders' Whitestar had already landed there and his crew, along with the Earthforce Marines assigned to them, had deployed to set up the base where they would conduct their operations.

Starbuck would go down to the planet on board Helo's Whitestar, which was the old reliable 525, the one that they had trained on eight years before. It had been through a lot ever since it was first used in the Shadow War almost thirty years before, but it still was a fine fighting vessel that the Cylons had no way of defending against.

She left David Sheridan in charge of the _Neroon_ and piloted the shuttle over to Helo's ship. After landing in the Whitestar's flight bay, Starbuck was met by Helo and Boomer in the airlock. Their son was back on Minbar, and the seven year old was developing quite normally according to the doctors, which relieved his mom and dad to no end.

"We're ready when you are, Starbuck! The Marines on board are chomping at the bit to get at the enemy, and so are we!" Helo said as he hugged Starbuck.

"Good! I've been ready for this for a long time! Everyone who survived the holocaust has been ready for this! Eight fraking years and now we get ours back!" Starbuck said resolutely.

Boomer added, "I just hope we can free some more people from those farms. To think that my kind is responsible for that…" She shook her head.

"Don't worry about it, Boomer! It's not your fault! It's those damned machine's fault! They were the ones who created you!" Starbuck said in an attempt to reassure her friend.

"Like the humans who created the original Cylons?" Boomer asked.

Starbuck and Helo looked at each other uncomfortably, but Starbuck had a thought and voiced it. "Maybe we are no better than the Cylons, but we can at least atone for our sins by helping free your people and take out the machines that created you. It's the best we can do in an imperfect universe."

Boomer thought it over, then nodded, adding, "You're right, Starbuck."

"There's no one here with hands clean, Sharon. None of us. All we can do is win this war and then move on from there, which is hopefully towards a better future for my people and yours." Starbuck said, then burst out laughing, "Can you imagine the old me hearing this? She'd probably shoot my fraking brains out with all this deep talk!"

Boomer and Helo laughed with her and turned the conversation back to the business at hand. When the time came, they descended through the atmosphere and landed a short way from the high school. Several more Whitestars landed as well as Mark X Vipers and Thunderbolts, so the place was intensely abuzz with activity.

Other landing sites were seeing similar activity around the planet, despite the best efforts of the Centurions. The enemy launched an offensive ten minutes after Starbuck, Helo, and Boomer landed. Almost a hundred Centurions tried to overrun the camp, but they were gunned down with ruthless efficiency by the ground pounders, using the defensive weapons they deployed all around the high school.

Two days later, Starbuck, Anders, Helo, and Boomer, along with their troops, began to march away from the high school and on their way into the heart of Delphi City. The real battle for Caprica was about to begin.


	89. Starbuck's March

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Eighty-Nine**

**Starbuck's March**

The distance between Delphi Union High School and the downtown area of Delphi City was only six miles, but it seemed like sixty thousand light years with the kind of fight the Centurions were putting up. As soon as they got out of the suburbs and into the outskirts of the heart of the city, they were hit by an intense barrage of fire from a least four dozen Centurions holed up in a variety of buildings alongside the main route into the downtown area.

Starbuck was crouched beside the remains of a wall. From the sign on the ground, it had been a mom-and-pop restaurant that she thought she might have ate at a time or two. The proprietors were long since dead, of course, and the place apparently had been leveled by the nukes used in the attacks eight years before. Thinking of that, she checked her radiation monitor and was relieved that her patch was still working.

It wasn't completely safe to be on these worlds, even without the Centurions shooting at them and wanting to turn them into fleshy versions of Swiss cheese. The radiation levels were much more intense here than on the other worlds because the Cylons had used more nukes here because of the dense population of the world. Two billion people had lived on Caprica, a full sixth of the Colonial population, so the Cylons had to use more bombs on the place.

She still had about three more days before she had to slap on another anti-radiation patch, so she forgot all about it as she loaded up a thermal grenade into the launcher attached to her PPG rifle. She waited until the Centurions' arc of fire went away from her before popping up quickly and firing her grenade. She ducked back down before she could see it hit one of the shiny metallic robots in the upper chest, blowing it to pieces.

The line of fire came back to her with much greater intensity, and she curled up into a ball to make herself as small a target as she could. Bullets skittered a little too close in front of her, and small chunks of the brickwork of the former restaurant fell onto her. Soon, though, the others under her command used their grenade launchers to do unto the enemy as she had, and the rain of bullets ceased abruptly.

Silenced slammed down upon them, and Starbuck stood up slowly and looked around. Others poked their heads up tepidly as well, but once they realized that the enemy wasn't around to shoot at them anymore, they stood up and moved out, heading down the road towards the downtown area. They didn't get more than two hundred yards before Centurions opened up on them again.

Starbuck managed to duck around a corner before the stream of bullets could ventilate her, but it didn't prevent a piece of asphalt shot off from the street from jumping up and scraping itself against her forehead, barely missing her left eye. She reflexively clutched the wound, then realized that it was what it was. Saying a quick silent prayer to her gods, she took out a bandage and applied it to her forehead to stem the bleeding, then grabbed her rifle and checked her charge before peaking round the corner and firing off several quick bursts.

Meanwhile, in another part of town, Helo and Boomer were with their unit, approaching the downtown area from a road that was one hundred and twenty degrees to the left of Starbuck. Their unit had driven around in some trucks at the compound before abandoning them when confronted by some Centurions on patrol. As luck would have it, Helo had driven the very truck that Starbuck and Helo had used to escape Delphi City.

They had just stormed a storefront where some Centurions had been held up, taking them out without having any of their unit taken out. Helo threw out some of the smaller remains of the robots as Boomer covered him. He used the bigger ones to make their defensive position a bit better. They wouldn't stay here long, only long enough to cover another group advancing on the enemy, which were in a tall office building that had an outstanding position to which to attack their unity.

Both of them were scraped up and bloodied already, and the heat of the Caprican summer made them smell like they'd been out in the field much longer than they actually had. They didn't care though, because the smell of old sweat was much better than the stench of dead bodies. They had smelled it already, though, as a few of their unit had already been killed in this battle.

"How's your charge?" Helo asked Boomer.

Boomer checked the PPG charge in her rifle and found it to be at seventy-five percent charge, and she relayed the info to her lover as she patted herself down to be sure of how many energy caps she had on her. "I'm good with energy caps. How about you?"

"Got about six left. Should be okay." Helo said before ducking down when he heard a stream of bullets coming his way. A couple of Centurions had come out in the open and were heading their way. Helo checked and found he had no grenades on him. Boomer saw what he was doing and tossed him one of hers, then took a position to cover him as he got ready to fire it from his launcher. He snuck a few feet away from Boomer and aimed carefully at the rear of one of the Centurions, hoping to take both of them out with one shot.

He fired and struck the one in the back, blowing him apart and having the explosion knock the second one flat. Boomer jammed a grenade into her launcher and fired at the machine, blowing it up just to be safe. Helo saw some movement and swung his rifle around to cover it, but lowered it when he saw it was Sgt. Macafee from his unit. "You guys okay in there?" the tall, muscular black male asked of Helo and Boomer.

"Yeah, we're good. Took out a couple of toasters who wanted to take us down." Boomer said, which perked up the eyebrows of Helo.

Macafee looked down and analyzed the damage, adding, "I'll say you did! Perkinson just radioed in and said that the way's clear up to Delphi Pharmacy on Tholius Street."

"Let's go. I want to get there before the sun goes down!" Helo said. Macafee nodded and they all headed down the street at a walking pace, making sure to check all around them just in case the way wasn't as clear as Perkinson had said it was. Before heading out of the storefront, he said to Boomer, "Toasters?"

Boomer shrugged and said, "Well, that's what they are. I'm not one of their kind anymore!" Helo smiled and hugged his love, giving her a quick kiss before heading out with the others.

They made it safely to the pharmacy and settled in for the night. Centurions tried a couple of times to ambush them, but they were half-hearted attempts at best, which led Boomer to speculate that there may not be as many Centurions around as they had thought. Helo wasn't so sure about that, but, as he started to doze off, he figured that Boomer might be right about that, knowing her.

"Looks like your suspicion might be right, Sergeant! Not as many Centurions as we had expected." Starbuck asked of the Earthforce Marine assigned to her unit. They were sitting inside a heavily damaged house, approximately three miles from the center of Delphi City.

"Doesn't make me happy, to be honest with you. It just means things will be a real bitch when we enter Caprica City." Sergeant Martha Alley said in her Carolinian drawl. She was descended from a long line of Marines, having grown up in Fayetteville, North Carolina, which was close to Fort Bragg, a longtime military base for Marines. She had flaming red hair and was burly, looking like an Olympic shot putter, which was a contrast to Starbuck blond hair and skinny body. Alley continued, "From the reports we've been getting, they've started retreating there for a last stand. What's left here is a rearguard action, meant to slow us up and weaken us."

"They've not succeeded so far, and I doubt they will. Not with the kind of people we have on this mission. Damned good fighters if I do say so myself!" Starbuck said.

Alley simply nodded at the praise, replying, "Better be. I trained these bastards and bitches myself. Marine's gotta be mean when they go into battle or they're no damned good. Like my daddy used to say, 'I may be a son of a bitch, but I'll live a lot longer in wartime than some gentleman would'."

"I wouldn't doubt that!" Starbuck said, laughing as she started to break out her water bottle. She was just starting to unscrew the cap when more bullet started coming in. With long hued instincts, Alley flattened to the ground, and Starbuck was just a quarter of a beat behind her.

"Looks like those tinheads aren't going to go away as easily as I'd hoped! Got any grenades on you, Starbuck? I'm fresh out!" Alley asked.

Starbuck handed her one and said, "I'll go this way and cover you!" She gestured with her head that she would go to her right to cover, while Alley should to her left. Alley nodded and the two women began the process of knocking out their attackers. This one was a lone Centurion, apparently out walking solo. Starbuck put a dent into it with a shot to its left shoulder, which spun him around and made him a perfect target to get a thermal grenade right in what would have been its groin area if it were a man. Despite the low aim, the grenade did its work and took out the metal attacker.

"I'm glad none of the guys were around to see that. They'd give me hell for shooting even one of those things in the family jewels!" Alley said, which made even the hardened veteran Starbuck burst out in laughter like a teenager. Alley did likewise and they were still laughing as they cautiously made their way to another position, where their forces were located.

"What's so funny?" asked Corporal Geber in his Israeli accent.

"One of those 'you had to be there moments', Steven. Don't worry about it. What's up?" Alley replied. Starbuck had to swallow a laugh to avoid having to let the Jewish male in on the joke.

"Koenig reports that his group are about two hundred yards from a local hospital. They're taking heavy fire from that direction, which leads them to believe that it could be one of those farms." Geber replied.

That sobered up Starbuck, as well as Alley, who had seen action on Tauron before having her unit assigned to Starbuck's forces. "That's our objective for tomorrow then. It may or may not be a farm, but we'll damn well know for sure tomorrow. The more of those we can liberate, the more people we might be able to save!" Alley said.

Starbuck was in command of the force, and could have countermanded the order, but she was going to do the same thing anyway, so why not let the veteran ground pounder have her way? Alley pulled watch as Starbuck slept, which wasn't surprising, as the big woman seemed to have boundless energy inside her. When the morning dawned, they moved out, heading to see if the hospital was indeed yet another farm.


	90. The Walls Come Tumbling Down

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Ninety**

**The Wall Comes Tumbling Down**

Starbuck was still rattled by what she had seen in the medical center. Sure, she had been expecting to see the humans hooked up to the breeding machines, so that wasn't a shock. It still broke her heart, yes, but it didn't blow her away. It was what she and the rest of her team, which included Boomer and Helo, had found when they got to the basement of the facility.

"It's you, alright, or a clone of you!" Boomer said, shocked herself at seeing the Starbuck clones.

Not all of them were the same. Some were taller, while some were shorter. Roughly half had blond hair of some kind on them, while others had varying shades of brunette and red hair. The facial features, however, were classic Starbuck.

"What do we do with them?" Helo asked.

Starbuck was too stunned to decide, unable to avert her eyes as to what her eggs had become. They had secured the area around the facility, as well as a path from there back to base camp. If they chose to move them, they had the ability to do so. The question was if she wanted to do that.

Part of Starbuck wanted to destroy them, because they had been made without her permission. The greater part of her, what some would call her 'motherly' side, wanted her to remove them from this place and take them somewhere safe. Regardless of who created them, they were a chip off of her block, and she didn't know if she could look at herself in the mirror if she got rid of them.

She could tell from the look in Boomer's eyes what she wanted her to do. That look helped make up her mind, in a way. Once, she had hated the Boomer model that she and Helo had encountered on Caprica eight years before. Now, though, they had become even closer friends than the old Boomer had been with Starbuck before she found out who she really was.

"Call base camp and have them move up some transports. Get these clones out of here and move them up to the _Neroon_. Have a transport meet them ASAP and have them sent to Minbar for further study." Starbuck told Helo. Helo nodded and went to make the arrangements, but Boomer stayed behind with Starbuck.

"Thank you." Boomer said uneasily to Starbuck.

"I couldn't bring myself to kill them. Years ago, maybe I would have. Then again, they look a lot like me."

Boomer put her hand on Starbuck's shoulder. "We thought we knew what we were doing. We thought that we were just following the will of God. All the time, we were just following the will of a bunch of machines."

"It's not your fault, Boomer. You were their creation, just as they were ours. It's out own damned faults. What was it that Adama said in that speech he gave at the decommissioning ceremony before all hell broke loose?"

Boomer remembered the speech exactly. " _'You know, when we fought the Cylons, we did it to save ourselves from extinction. But we never answered the question, why? Why are we as a people worth saving? We still commit murder because of greed, spite, jealousy. And we still visit all of our sins upon our children. We refuse to accept the responsibility for anything that we've done. _

'_Like we did with the Cylons. We decided to play God, create life. When that life turned against us, we comforted ourselves in the knowledge that it really wasn't our fault, not really. You cannot play God then wash your hands of the things that you've created. Sooner or later, the day comes when you can't hide from the things that you've done anymore.'_

"I remember those words very well. If your asking how I remember them, it's because part of the memory got transferred into me somewhere along the way. For the last eight years, that's stuck in my mind. It resonated inside of me and made me realize that, despite all that had been done, none of it was worthy of being exterminated."

Starbuck looked at her and mused, "When we do beat the Cylons, what do we do then? What happens to your kind? Will my people come back here and repopulate these worlds?"

Boomer replied, "I don't have the answers, Kara. I wish I did, but I don't. That's up to the Quorum when the time comes."

"I don't want to come back here." Starbuck said. "If I had my way, I would give these worlds to you and let your kind create something new here. Besides, how can fifty thousand people repopulate twelve worlds?"

"Even after all that we've helped the Cylons do to you? You'd be willing to abandon these worlds to us?"

Starbuck nodded, then said, "Don't expect the folks back on Kobol to all feel the same way, though." She walked over to one of the clones inside the liquid-filled tube and stared at it for a long while. "Then again, with the radiation levels the way they are now, it would be a long time before we could come back here anyway."

Helo walked back into the room and said, "They'll be here to pick them up in a few hours, Starbuck. While I was out, I for a report that we've pretty much driven the Centurions out of Delphi City. There are a few holdouts, but they're cornered in a middle school on the edge of the city."

"Where are those others headed to? Caprica City?" Boomer asked.

"That's the direction they told me they were headed in. The other forces we sent out to subdue the smaller cities report the same thing. Heavy raiders have evacuated them and took off for the spaceport there." Helo answered.

Starbuck walked over to where her pack was and picked it up along with her rifle, saying, "C'mon, let's go. We've still got work to do!" She walked out without looking behind her to see if the other two followed her out.

Helo looked over at the tubes with the clones in them, then looked at Boomer, saying, "I'm glad she's not destroying them."

"Me too." Boomer said with a smile, then picked up her stuff and left the room. Helo did likewise and followed her out.

Before the sun set that day, the last Centurion holdout inside of Delphi City fell. They soon found out why they held onto it as hard as they did, because they found out even more clones inside. "Search the school campuses around this area, as well as the other hospitals in the city. We might find more clones and possibly more humans hooked up to the breeding machines. Take necessary precautions, because the enemy might have booby traps waiting for us." Starbuck said to the commanders of the reserve units coming in to hold the city while her forces prepared to move out to Caprica City.

Once she was done with briefing, she headed back to her billet in a posh Delphi luxury hotel on the edge of the city. While the windows were smashed and the sheets were rather musty, at least there was power and the water was running, thanks to the utilities they had brought with them. So, for the first time in a long while, Starbuck enjoyed a hot, luxurious bath in her room that night. It would have been nice if her lover Samuel Anders were here, but he was with the troops marching up to Caprica City from another direction and could not get away.

She cleared off the bed sheets, flipped the mattress over, and climbed onto the bed to get some sleep. For a brief moment, she had thought of sleeping in the nude, which would have helped keep her cooler in the muggy summer night. She thought better of it, though, as she might be needed at a moment's notice and it would waste critical moments putting on her uniform.

Despite having put on the same sweaty clothes that she'd been wearing for almost two weeks now, she felt better the next morning, and felt all the more refreshed with a quick shower after waking up. They had a little time before moving out to rest and recover from the long battle to take Delphi City, and she made the most of it.

The main reason she chose this hotel wasn't for the luxurious accommodations, but for the conference rooms, which became briefing rooms for the planned assault on Caprica City. The Colonial Ballrooms were the main billet areas for the troops who couldn't fit into the regular rooms, while the meeting rooms on the mezzanine were devoted to briefing rooms and the main planning room, which was located in the Cimtar Room.

Whitestars flew into the smaller spaceport in Delphi City, as the main headquarters for the assault was moved to the city. The clones of Starbuck were on their way to Minbar, which relieved Starbuck to no end. She didn't need the distraction of having to deal with them while planning the final assault on the capital. With them on their way to someplace safe, she could concentrate on the business at hand.

Reports coming from the other main stronghold were encouraging, as Apollo and his forces had landed on Aerelon City. Despite meeting very heavy resistance, they had managed to secure a landing site to start bringing together the resources for the invasion of the world. He had said in his last message that his forces would be ready to move out within a week. Starbuck wasn't optimistic by nature, but she began to feel like that victory was now inevitability and no longer a pipe dream.


	91. Free At Last

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Ninety-One**

**Free At Last**

One week later, they were in Caprica City and smashing their way deep into the city. The Centurions were more desperate than ever, because their ambushes came at them more often and the fighting was the fiercest than they had seen in this campaign. Their desperation, though, was their undoing, as their overly aggressive attacks allowed Starbuck's forces to take them out on the defensive, which helped minimize their risks and maximize the Centurion losses.

The main headquarters of the Cylons in the city wasn't in the government complex anymore, but in the nearby University of Caprica campus. It was more spread out and much closer to the spaceport that they still held. The bell towers at each corner of the campus gave them a great spread of fire all around the campus area.

That was until the artillery showed up and took aim at the towers, which soon fell under the onslaught of the massive bursts of plasma from the big guns. Starbuck was sheltered in one of the dorms that they had taken away from the Cylons, along with Helo and Boomer. The Cylons, for some reason that she didn't understand, didn't use any kind of explosive rounds that the allies used. They may be able to outgun them with the pistols that morphed from their hands, but the Cylons were no match for the thermal grenades and PPG bazookas that Starbuck and her forces used.

That didn't mean that they didn't take losses. The Cylons took out troops with their ambushes, sneaking from windows and shooting up the troops as they made their way towards the college. Starbuck wanted to preserve as many buildings as she could, but she realized that if they were to get to the center of campus with most of their forces intact, she would have to sacrifice some of the dorm halls and classroom buildings in order to get her forces in position to take the scientific research center, which was where the main force of Cylons were held up.

Not all buildings were demolished, of course. They managed to get the drop on the machines with a diversion and stormed the main administrative building. After several floors of horrific close quarters battle, they had taken the building away from the Cylons and established a position upon which they could fire at the research center. The College of Arts and Sciences building was also taken, so they would have a way of firing at both sides of the center as they were making their final approach on it.

Night fell, and Starbuck ordered her troops to set up defensive positions and prepare to rest for the main assault in the morning. Starbuck, Boomer and Helo commandeered the office of the university president for their billet for the night. As luck would have it, the man who was in charge had seen fit to have three leather couches in his office, which would make for a comfortable sleep that night.

Before they could doze off, though, they had to eat. All three of them were getting sick of the rations, but ate them without complaint, as they'd need the energy for tomorrow. "If I see another ration pouch with spaghetti, I think I'll scream!" Helo said.

"You think that's bad, I almost lost my lunch on the beef stroganoff!" Boomer said.

Starbuck was chowing down on some seafood gumbo and barely able to get it down because of the intense spices. She finally gave up and offered the pouch to the others, saying, "Anyone want this? If I eat any more of this crap, I'll burn a hole in my stomach!"

"Ah! Prudomme gumbo! This stuff is very tasty!" Helo replied as he gladly took the pouch from Starbuck. "I love this stuff!"

"Shows what kind of taste you have! I could barely gobble down my first pouch when I got it! Good thing you weren't eating those before getting me pregnant!" Boomer joked.

They had to duck down fast when bullets came flying in from outside, shattering the windows in the office. "Frak!" Boomer said as she hit the floor.

Starbuck got on the communications link to find out what the enemy was up to. Shortly thereafter, the attacking Cylons were smashed as their attempt at a nighttime ambush was thwarted in the university commons area. The Cylons tried a couple of other times to break through the allies' defenses and throw them back, but each time they failed before their attacks could materialize.

The next day dawned bright and hot, and the sounds of battle greeted the rising sun. A third force had made its way into some dorm halls on the other side of the research center, so Starbuck was able to have the triangular offensive that she had wanted to launch after all. The late-arriving force distracted the enemy by throwing all its fire on that side of the building, which allowed the other two prongs of the offensive to rush the building.

Grenades and PPG blasts got them deeper into the building. Fighting was bloody and brutal as they moved from room to room and floor by floor. Starbuck, Boomer, and Helo stayed back and helped keep reinforcements from heading into the building. The enemy tried to pull Centurions from other buildings to fight back in a last ditch attempt to free the others, but, like the rest, they failed to break into the defensive perimeter.

The last dying gasp of the Cylon presence on Caprica came when the enemy somehow managed to activate a generator and use elevators to head to a previously unknown tunnel underneath the research facility. The tunnel led to a military spaceport terminal at the end of the facility. Some of them did board a couple of heavy raiders in an attempt to flee, but both were shot down before they barely broke the Caprica City skyline.

The offensive lasted through the night and into the next day before the last of the Centurions were wiped out. It ended in the mid-afternoon when the last Centurion was taken down rushing towards a Cylon heavy raider. A strange silence descended upon the city as the winds from a forthcoming thunderstorm began to whip through the city.

"It's over. At least here, it's over. One more planet, and we've won." Boomer said soberly as she dropped her rifle to her side and plopped down on the ground exhausted. Helo only had energy to nod and sit down beside her, leaning back beside her against the wall. Starbuck sat down cross-legged in front of them and stared at them for the longest time.

"You know, when we were there in the museum, after I managed to kill off that damn Gina model that was attacking me, I never imagined that this day would happen. I figured we were done, that we were just passing time until the Cylons captured us and killed us all. Goes to show how much I know!" Starbuck said.

"Never imagined that it would turn out this way, that's for sure! We still have to have to take Aerelon from them, but that's just a matter of time." Helo added.

"We'll have to go after the Cylon homeworld if we truly want to win this war. We have to remember that!" Boomer cautioned.

Starbuck sighed and said, "That's in the plans, but we'll need to rest our forces and secure the Colonial worlds first. But it won't be long before we're moving on them!"

Days later, Admiral Adama came down to tour the freed city along with former president Laura Roslin. Starbuck's forces heavily guarded them both, because she wanted to be careful in case that the enemy had some Centurions still lurking around.

"Gods, I knew it was bad, but I never imagined this!" Roslin said after some time.

"We've been gone eight years. They've had this long to dig in and defend this place, so prying them out took a toll on this place. Those nukes used in the initial attacks didn't help either. Now, though, we've freed them from the Cylons. It's a start." Adama replied.

"How can we live here, though? The scientists say that the radiation levels won't be safe for centuries, and the anti-radiation patches will eventually build a resistance within our bodies! Even the efforts to reduce the effects thanks to the technomages aren't enough!" Roslin mused sadly.

Adama nodded, "So what will the Quorum do then? What can the Earth Alliance and the Interstellar Alliance do for us?"

"I wish I knew, Bill! The Quorum has been wrestling with this for ages, but they've not been able to come up with a decision on the matter. But there is someone who has an idea…" Roslin said.

"Who?" Adama said.

"Dee Dualla. She's been reluctant to advance the idea, but she's told me at least. The idea is to give the Colonies to the humanoid Cylons and to allow them to breed and repopulate the worlds with our blessing." Roslin said.

Adama grunted and thought for a while before saying, "A while back, I heard an interesting phrase from the Japanese culture on Earth. 'Shikata ga nai' means 'there is no other choice' in that language. As much as I wish we could come back to these worlds, it would be difficult even without the radiation.

"Think about it. We've created a new home on Kobol. Our people are happy there. All the old animosities from the past are starting to fade away because of present circumstances. Sagittaron and Caprican are almost indistinguishable nowadays, with the way our society is."

"I know, but this is a decision for the whole of our society to make, Bill. If we don't do this right, it would just lead to future animosities between us and the human Cylons."

"We just have to lay the facts out before them and let them decide then. But that's for later. Now we have to liberate Aerelon, then prepare to move on to their homeworld and defeat them once and for all. Gods know it won't be easy, but we have to do it." Adama replied.

Laura nodded and then leaned back in the seat of the transport, looking out at the view of the battered skyline of Caprica City. Tears formed in her eyes as she remembered growing up in the city, going to university, and becoming politically active, rising in the government along with her mentor, President Adar. Twelve billion had died in the holocaust, and now, finally, they were close to being avenged once and for all. But once that was done, what would become of these worlds? That decision would have to be made soon, and Roslin dreaded the debate that was to come.


	92. The Last Stronghold

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Ninety-Two**

**The Last Stronghold**

The light was at the end of the tunnel, and it most certainly wasn't a train coming at them. Apollo's forces entered Aerelon City late one day and forced their way into several buildings to build a defensive perimeter around themselves so that they could prepare for the next day's assault. He hardly got any rest that night, as the Cylons threw wave after wave of Centurion at them in a vain attempt to dislodge them.

Morning dawned and Apollo's unit moved out to engage the enemy. Within an hour, they got into a firefight with a pack of Centurions on one of the main boulevards in the city. As Apollo was heading for some cover, he was struck in his thigh by a round from a Centurion. "Oh frak!" he cried as he limped quickly behind a wall of a collapsed building.

"Apollo's down!" Corporal Heinz Weidriger yelled, crawling over to the younger Adama and checking out the wound. "Weidriger to medics! We're in position Blue 22 Alpha! Apollo's been hit! Hit in the right thigh! I'll dress the wound but I need some help!" Weidriger clicked off the communications link to base and pulled out some dressing from his pack and went to work on Apollo's wound. His name may have been German, but his drawl marked him from his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. "How you holding up, boss?"

"All things considered, I'd rather be at the beach!" Apollo said with a chuckle, then winced and groaned as Weidriger tightened the tourniquet around his upper thigh to help lessen the blood flow enough to stem blood loss. "Looks like you'll be all right, Apollo, but you'll have to leave this fight to us roughnecks! Don't worry, though, because we'll whip these metal bastards for you!"

The medics crawled up and placed him on the stretcher as best they could. "Whiny, can you guys give us some cover fire?" One of the medics asked the corporal.

"Sure thing, Checkers!" Weidriger replied, then spoke into the mike, which hooked him up to the rest of his platoon. "On my mark, we shoot up these bastards to cover the fellas taking Apollo back to get treated. Ready? Mark!" Weidriger popped up and fired off his PPG rifle, while Checkers and the other medic hustled Apollo out of there.

They soon had him on a transport headed back to their base camp roughly twelve miles away from the edge of Aerelon City. The medics had him on the table and an older red-haired woman looked him over with a grimace. "Hmmm…not as bad as I'd feared when I heard about this. Whoever treated the wound knew what the hell he was doing! Put him under and I'll go to work!" Before Apollo knew it, he was going under and falling asleep.

Hours later, he woke up in the temporary infirmary of the mobile medical unit. Instinctively, he felt his leg and breathed a sigh of relief to find that his leg was still there. He didn't think he would lose it with the kind of wound he had, but you never knew. It hurt like hell, as if someone was plunging a hot poker into his thigh and twisting it.

His dad came over to his bedside, pulled up a barstool from the empty bed next to him, and sat down beside his son. "How are you feeling?" Admiral Adama asked.

"No pyramid for me today, Dad. Sorry about that!" Apollo answered.

"You know I never cared for that game!" the admiral laughed as he saw his son's reaction to the question. "Means I'll have a better chance of knocking you on your ass next time we spar!"

"Like hell you will!" Apollo chuckled in reply, then grew serious. "How's the battle going?"

"It's hard, but we're making progress. We've lost a good many people though. The guy who fixed you up, Weidriger, caught a bullet in his chest. I'm sorry, Lee. He didn't make it."

The news rocked Apollo, who clenched a fist and slowly pounded it against his bed. "I was gonna thank him for what he did for me. Guess I won't be able to do that now."

"You can thank his family when we get the chance. I'll thank them myself for what he did for you. I've lost one son already and I'd rather not lose another if I can help it."

"I know. So am I going to go back into the fight?" Apollo asked.

"Not with this kind of wound, son. You can come to _Galactica _when the doctor thinks you're ready to be moved. Even when we win here, we've still got some work to do after this." Adama said.

Apollo nodded and yawned, to which Adama replied, "You need to get some rest. I'll head back to the command center and see how things are going!" He leaned over and kissed his son on the head. "See you later, son. Gods go with you!"

The younger Adama smiled and said, "Gods go with you, dad!" and the elder Adama left the room. Soon after, Apollo drifted back off to sleep. In his dreams, he saw his younger brother Zak back on Caprica at the military base where he had been training.

"How's it hanging, bro?" Zak said as he walked over to his brother.

"I'm fine. How are you?" Lee asked of his deceased younger brother.

"Other than the fact that I am dead, I'm doing okay in the afterlife. I see that you got dinged up a bit!" Zak looked down and pointed at Lee's wound. It was patched up tight with bandages.

"Yeah, I came a little too close to meeting you in the afterlife. I'll be okay though." Apollo replied.

"You'd better be. Dee would be pissed if she lost you this late in the fight!" Zak said.

"How do you know…" Apollo said, then gave up on the question when he realized this was a dream.

Zak wouldn't let him off that easy as he laughed and said, "I know about you and Dee, man. Always figured that you'd hook up with Kara, but that's how things go sometimes."

"Kara? Well, I did always suspect she might be, but I never thought it was a good idea. Besides, she's changed a lot since you last saw her."

"Saw her alive, yes, but I know what you mean. She's with that Anders guy now. Don't know what to make of him, but she's happy at least." Zak said.

An announcement over the loudspeaker called Apollo's name, and Zak said, "You'd better go!" Zak walked away and headed towards the hanger, but before Apollo could call back to his brother, something grabbed at his shoulder…

"Apollo? Wake up!" Garrison Hollifield said. The former Earth Alliance president sat beside his bed and looked down at him with a smile.

"What's wrong?" Apollo asked, wondering why Hollifield was here and not his father.

"Nothing, unless you consider the liberation of the last world in the Colonial system to be bad news!" Hollifield said dryly, but his smile betrayed his joy at the news.

"We won?" Apollo asked, and Hollifield nodded. "I'll be damned!" Apollo laughed in disbelief. "How?"

"The Centurions made a last stand at the spaceport, trying to escape. We intercepted a transmission for them to bail out and head back. Fortunately for us, whoever sent the message didn't realize how bad things were going, and also failed to see that we held that very same spaceport. The last one of those machines went down about an hour ago."

Apollo looked around, then asked, "Where's my father?"

"Funny you should mention him. When we realized we'd won, he jumped out of his chair and let out a war whoop that damn near burst my wife's eardrum. He was sitting in a chair at the time, and when he hopped up, he accidentally stepped on my wife's foot and twisted his knee and fell on his shoulder. He'll be okay, just a sprained shoulder and a sprained knee. Never thought your old man had it in him!" Hollifield replied.

Apollo chuckled at that bit of news, then asked if he could see his dad. Hollifield turned to the medic and asked him for a wheelchair. A few minutes later, they wheeled him to the office where his dad was sitting behind the desk and in obvious pain. The older Adama was in obvious pain, but looked to be a bit embarrassed by it. "Figures! We'd win our worlds back, and I go and damn near blow out my knee and shoulder!" the older Adama mused humorously.

Both men laughed at the thought, but then they grew serious. Their eyes locked and each men's eyes started to well up with tears. "We did it, dad!" Apollo finally said.

"Yes, son! We certainly did!" Adama said, barely able to hold the emotion in. "I never thought I'd live to see this day, son!"

"Me either, dad! Me either!" Apollo said, "Too damn bad I can't get up now or I'd hug you!"

Adama laughed and said, "Better you not, because of my damned shoulder!" He grimaced as a sharp pain went through his shoulder. Once it subsided, he looked back at his son and said, "I love you, son!"

Apollo replied, "I love you, dad!"

Light years away, a fist slammed down onto a desk. Kevin Vacit looked at his longtime assistant, Talia Winters, and the expression on his face was so frightening that the younger woman had to step back out of sheer fright.

"Those bastards went and done it!" Vacit said finally. All Talia could do was nod, afraid that anything she said would set the ancient man off and over the edge. She was, rightfully so, afraid for her life.

"If I ever see my grandson again, I'll kill him. I ever see Hollifield, I'll take my time in killing him!" Vacit growled.

"That's…that's what I came to tell you. A ship arrived not long ago. It contained the body of your grandson!" Winters said cautiously.

Vacit looked at her perplexed and asked in a surprisingly gentle way, "What happened?"

"The letter they included in the unmanned shuttle said that Alfred Bester had passed away of natural causes. It also said, and I quote, 'We're coming for you. We know where you are, and we're coming for you.' End quote."

Vacit got up slowly from his desk, feeling the almost two hundred years of existence in his bones. "So he wants to come here? Let him come! If he makes it through all we have here, then he'll learn what I know about the Vorlons, the Shadows, and the origins of the so-called Colonial gods. It's the least I could do before that bastard kills me."

"Do you…do you think he would do that?" Winters asked.

Vacit turned and looked back at her and said, "Once I get through telling him what I know, he'll have no choice but to kill me!" He turned back to the window and looked out at the stars in the night sky and said aloud, "Let him come! I don't care how many of our humanoid Cylons he has. I don't care how much we're outmatched. Let him come! He may have won this war, but I'll have my revenge when I tell him what I know!"

Winters nodded and left the room, leaving Vacit there by himself, still staring at the stars. His grand scheme was falling all around him, and he was bound and determined to take as many of those who had defeated him down with him.


	93. In At The Death

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Ninety-Three**

**In At The Death**

It took two months to properly prepare for the final assault on the Cylon homeworld. A lot would have to be done before the allies were ready to move on to the final objective of Operation Supernova. They knew where the homeworld of the enemy was, but they had to wait to find out just what they would be facing when they jumped into the system and launched their offensive.

They also had to have enough of a force to defend the twelve homeworlds that made up the Colonies. Though they were not populated at the moment, the Cylons had the capabilities of jumping in and using nukes on the worlds, which would hinder their progress. The Cylons were depleted, but still a very capable force.

The Quorum had decided to leave the issue of repopulation up to the people on Kobol. While there were plenty of arguments heard towards repopulation, the opposition dried up in the face of the fact that it would be decades at best before the radiation levels were acceptable enough for proper habitation. While giving the worlds to the humanoid Cylons split the Colonists, eventually they voted to allow them to have the worlds by a significant margin.

The human Cylons, thanks to technology developed by the Interstellar Alliance, were now able to conceive their own children, so the first three generations were able to prepare themselves to move onto the worlds. The fourth generation would have to be fully gestated before being allowed to enter the new human Cylon society.

For them, this battle was the last chain binding them with their past. Once freed of the influence of the Cylon programming, the humanoid Cylons looked upon their creators with revulsion and despised them for what they had done to the original Colonists. This view was almost universal among them, and through their work during the years between the battle at Earth and the launching of Operation Supernova, they had worked with the Colonials and the Interstellar Alliance on their new ships and new weaponry.

The humanoid Cylons had decided on a new name for their race, taking on the name of Gaians in reference to the ancient Greek goddess Gaia, which represented the personification of Earth. The decision was made to honor those from Earth who had helped them achieve their independence from the Cylons. The decision was met with mixed reactions from the Colonials, who were still a little uneasy about what they had decided.

The Colonials had built up what they were calling New Kobolopolis into a thriving community, and the feeling over the eight years that they had resided there was that while it would have been preferable to re-colonize their lost worlds, practicality said that they would be better off staying on the planet which was once home of their Gods.

The Gaians would maintain an embassy on Kobol as well as in Geneva and Tuzinor. The Colonists on Kobol had decided to be an independent member of the Earth Alliance, and, like Mars, would have representation in the Interstellar Alliance. Laura Roslin was the Colonial representative to Tuzinor, while Tom Zarek went to Geneva to serve the Colonists in Geneva.

While the war still remained to be won, the post-war galaxy was starting to take form. The Centauri, with the help of the Earth Alliance as well as the Interstellar Alliance, were laying waste to the Drakh, depriving Vacit of his once key ally in his war on the Colonial-EA-ISA alliance. Emperor Vir Cotto had pledged a few ships to the fight against the Cylons, but the bulk of his fleet, still under the command of General Rhys, went relentlessly after the former servants of the Shadows.

Galen, Alwyn, and Andromeda used their ships for intelligence gathering missions to the Cylon homeworld. Vacit, despite his advanced telepathic abilities, was unable to detect them scanning his world, and neither were the mechanical Cylons able to see them either. Through their work, a picture emerged of what they would face when they finally launched the last phase of the operation.

The machines had gone into overdrive in building Centurions. Probes indicated that the Cylons were skipping steps in order to speed production. These made the Centurions less effective in the field, but the Cylons were banking on numbers to stem the rising tide of defeat they were facing.

All throughout the operation, the Gaians had fought alongside their human counterparts from Earth as well as the Colonies. They had fought and died for these worlds, and were ready to move onto the world where they were defeated and break the final chains linking them with their creator.

Kevin Vacit knew that the storm was coming. His mood was dark these days, and his dealings with the Cylons were harsh indeed these days. Their view of him remained the same, so they felt that their failures were a mark against them and not of the man that they had adopted as their God. Vacit hadn't welcomed that designation, but he tolerated it so that he could achieve his objective of conquering Earth and bringing the telepaths to power and mastery of the human race.

He thumbed the Holy Bible that had been taken from one of the people he had based the first generation human Cylons on. He didn't know what had become of Shelly Godfrey, nor did he care. All he cared about was holding off the allies from taking his world from him and defeating the Cylons once and for all. He still had visions of coming back and defeating them all, and the Cylons shared those dreams with him despite the bleak outlook.

However, he treated Talia Winters as gently as he could. She was the only human telepath here, and she had stood by him ever since she came here long ago. The Vorlons had abducted her while she was being transferred from one Psi Corps facility to another, which led the Corps to make up the story that she had been killed and dissected. They had brought her to him so that he could breed with her and create stronger telepaths, as well as to find out what the 'gift' was that Talia's former lover, Jason Ironhart, had left with her.

Vacit had laid Bester to rest near the ocean in an unmarked grave. Despite his anger at the supposed betrayal, he had come to realize that Bester had just been Hollifield's unwitting pawn in this battle. When he saw the corpse of his grandson, he realized at that moment that it no longer mattered to him if they won or lost, just as long as his other grandson died.

Hollifield had betrayed all telepaths, which, in Vacit's eyes, was an unforgivable sin. He had kept them under the reins of the mundanes, and his hatred for the former Earth Alliance president was greater than it had ever been for anyone else in his entire life. He wanted him dead anyway possible, but preferably at his own hands. Then, and only then, could he die in peace.

Garrison Hollifield knew he didn't have a lot of years left. He was getting very close to his seventy-fifth birthday, and even with his health in excellent condition, he realized that his days were numbered. The aches and pains of old age were becoming ever more present with each passing month, and he had to reluctantly hand over the reins of responsibility to others.

He sat down at the table with his trusted associate, Dan Tanner, who had been with him ever since the Earth-Minbari War and the Babylon project that had followed thereafter. Dan Tanner's brows were gray these days but he still looked as young as he was back when they first met.

They were in the last planning meeting before the launch of the offensive. Aboard the EAS _Independence_, now being helmed by Captain Naoko Juzikuro, they met to go over Starbuck's plan one last time and make the last minute refinements if they were needed.

Starbuck was now in her early thirties and had been aching to get this over with. Her soulmate, Samuel Anders, was aboard one of the Whitestars that would assist in the initial landings on the Cylon homeworld. She had talked about settling down in Tuzinor, marrying Anders and having kids so she could have a family life to balance out the responsibilities of being second to the Entil'zha.

Sitting next to her was her de facto boss, Entil'zha Susan Ivanova. She'd seen so much ever since she had become executive officer on Babylon 5 some thirty years before. She still had many years ahead of her, but fewer ahead than she had in her past. Like him, she was growing old as well.

General Nelena Cain was there as well, sitting to the opposite side of Ivanova. Scuttlebutt was that the two were romantically involved, but no one dared say it out in the open because both women had a reputation of making fools suffer. Hollifield hoped, in a way, that it was true, because both women had been lost for so long before they found one another. Even though homophobia was not nearly as bad as it had once been, tolerance of it remained non-universal on Earth and throughout the Earth Alliance.

Admiral William Adama sat beside his son, Lee "Apollo" Adama, who had finally recovered from the gunshot wound he received in combat on Aerelon. Once split apart because of the death of Zak Adama, they had managed to bridge the gap between them and strengthen the bonds between them. Apollo would be part of the combat team that would head down to the planet, and Adama would worry about his son while still managing to perform his duties to the best of his abilities.

Also in the room were the twelve humans who had been used against their will by Vacit to help create the human Cylons. Dr. Shelly Godfrey was still shabbily dressed to this day, although she wore her hair shorter than Six had or that Gina wore these days as the Gaian representative on Kobol. D'anna Biers, Hollifield's sister-in-law, was still shy and timid, unlike her sister Twanissa. General Sharon Valerii commanded the Earthforce portion of the allied fleet, and was particularly looking forward to this battle.

Dr. Leo Conoy and Aaron Doral were seated beside one another, discussing sports and other various subjects to kill time before the meeting began. Simon Powell, the now-retired coach of the University of Kentucky Wildcats, was looking over a day old copy of Universe Today and reading a couple of articles about two of his former players. William Keikeya had mellowed a bit, but still was a bit of a pain in the ass to those in Hollywood, while Felix Gaeta had put aside his distrust of the government long enough to join them in this last campaign. Adam Valance, Adrianna Davis, and Lauren Ross joined them at the table and were too taken with being in the same room as these dignitaries again.

The final person came into the room, and Hollifield acknowledged her with a nod. Clarissa Cally, after being defeated for the American presidency in 2284 after Hollifield had defeated her a year earlier for the EA presidency, had left politics and become a professor of intergalactic relations at Georgetown. They had managed to put aside their differences and be friendly with one another. She sat down three chairs from him and looked at Starbuck, who got up and started the meeting.

The meeting was perfunctory, as the last little details of the battle plan were worked out. All that remained was to jump in and begin the attack. The chess game was nearing an end, and Hollifield was closing in on checkmate on Vacit.


	94. Kicking Down The Door

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Ninety-Four**

**Kicking Down The Door**

One hundred basestars confronted them when they finally arrived into the orbit of the Cylon homeworld. Cylon heavy raiders numbered into the hundreds and raiders numbered into the tens of thousands. But the rush to prepare a defense was apparent, as a good many basestars looked to have been partially completed, while others looked to still be heavily damaged from previous encounters.

It mattered little, as the Whitestars under Starbuck's command tore into the basestars, leaving the Cylon fighters and their heavy raiders to the Whitestars, Vipers, and other assorted allied fighters from a plethora of worlds. What the allied fighters didn't get, the capital ships mopped up the rest.

The basestars launched a massive spread of nuclear missiles at the approaching fleet, but they never even came close as Starbuck had anticipated such a tactic and had her Whitestars take them out before they even had the chance to get through their own wave of raiders. The Cylons shot off all the rest of their missiles in a vain attempt to hold back the invaders, but it was far too little, far too late.

It took the better part of a day to wipe out the hundred basestars. Many had tried to speed towards the capital ships and breech their reactors in a vain attempt to weaken the fleet, but the kamikaze runs were for naught, as Starbuck had also anticipated this tactic and conducted their destruction in a symphony of plasma discharges and particle beams that eventually resulted in the last basestars turned into burning husks in space, their flames eventually snuffed out by the vacuum of space.

Many of the raiders and heavy raiders fled the battle and headed down to the planet to save what they could for the invasion to come. All this did was allow Starbuck and the others in command a time to rest up before the landings were to begin. Vacit and his Cylon allies had made the mistake of allowing the enemy to bring the battle to them, which, in modern warfare, was almost asking for defeat. The allies didn't intend them to get the chance to even ask for that.

Two days later, the invasion forces were ready. The remaining Colonial battlestars prepped their Raptors, while the other ships readied their atmospheric shuttles and the Whitestars got into position to make their descent onto the planet. Admiral Adama asked the communications officer to patch him through to the entire fleet for one last message.

"This is Admiral Adama to the entire fleet. Today, we finish this long war against the Cylons, once and for all. I just wanted to take this time to thank all of you for your efforts to bring us to this day. Some of you won't make it through the coming battle, but know that your sacrifice will not be in vain. May the Gods go with you and protect you from harm. So say we all!"

There was silence for a moment as the words sunk into everyone inside the Command Information Center on board _Galactica_, then Adama turned to his communications officer and said to her, "Order the alert Vipers to launch. Once they're away, launch the Raptors as well as the standby Vipers."

When the last of the reserve Vipers had finally been launched from _Galactica_, deck chief Galen Tyrol walked over and sat down on a nearby bench and waited with the others for news of the battle. "I'm getting too old for this!" he said to those who were part of the deck crew. Many of them were from Earth, but a precious few _Galactica_ originals were still around. To them, this day was extra special, because it was a day that they had dared not dream of when the Cylons attacked their homeworlds eight years before.

Tyrol's wife Fabby was at home with their kids, and he felt guilty about leaving her to come on this mission. She had understood, though, saying to him, "The admiral needs you, and you need this too. Go with God and may He protect you from harm!" Fabby still practiced her Catholicism, and the two had decided to raise their children in both religions and allow them to decide for themselves when they grew up which faith they would follow.

Starbuck's Whitestar began its descent into the atmosphere of the Cylon homeworld, and the ride was still rough despite all the inertial dampeners that her ship had. She had left command of the _Neroon_ to another, because David Sheridan had insisted upon being her second on this mission. Once they were through the atmosphere, he guided their ship towards the central continent on this world, where the Cylon colony was sited.

The strafing runs were designed to paralyze the enemy and did just that. Despite the massive amounts of anti-aircraft fire in the skies, the attacks went smoothly with little damage done to the Whitestars. After passing over the colony three times, they landed just over the ridge of some small hills about ten kilometers away from the defensive perimeter of the Cylon colony. The Marines and other ground troops hustled off the landing Whitestars to set up their own perimeter and establish their own base in which to launch their own attacks.

As Starbuck and her forces prepared for their march onto the colony, Vipers and Thunderbolts sortied over the Cylon stronghold, attacking the city at will despite the massive amounts of bullets and missiles thrown up by the enemy. It was far from a cakewalk, as they lost six Thunderbolts and four Vipers in the attacks.

From his bunker deep under the ground, Vacit watched the attacks take place. He had ordered the underground complex built years ago when it became apparent as to what the enemy was plotting. He dismissed his own comparisons of his plight with Hitler's back three hundred and forty years before, because he didn't see himself in the same light. He didn't want to wipe out the mundanes, just subjugate them. However, if they refused to bow down to the rule of their telepathic masters, it would have been out of his hands.

Vacit realized that futility of those dreams now. The Cylons were in panic mode now, thinking only of their own survival and not of his greater vision for them. Dissention had begun to break out among many of the IL-series robots, and Vacit had ruthlessly quashed it, having his detractors ripped apart in front of the shocked metallic onlookers.

The room shook as the building above them shook from yet another strafing sortie by the allies. Vacit was in his office with only Talia Winters as his company, and he tried to not let his growing anger and frustration show to the one person he felt he could count on with everything falling around him.

"It won't be long now." Vacit said soberly before drinking some water from a glass.

"Can I ask you something?" Winters asked cautiously.

"You've been my assistant for years. You have the right to do that, Talia." Vacit said as warmly as he could.

She smiled briefly, but it slipped when she asked the question that was on her mind. "What will we do should they come into the city and find the bunker?"

"We can't run, Talia. Even if we could, where would we go? The Drakh are close to defeat. We can't trust the Cylons anymore. We can't go home again, much as it pains me. No, we have to make a stand here."

"If they find us, they'll kill us, won't they?"

Vacit sighed and said, "I'm afraid they won't let us off that easy, Talia. Hollifield wants us alive, that I know for sure. I can feel the presence of the Psi Cops and the bloodhounds that used to be in the Corps and betrayed their fellow telepaths by siding with him. If he wanted us dead, he wouldn't have bothered bringing them here. No, he wants us alive so he can do what he wants with us."

Vacit could see that a chill had run down the spine of Talia Winters. She had been through the ringer before she was liberated from the part of the Psi Corps that had been allied with the Shadows. They had wanted to dissect her and find out the secrets to the gift she'd gotten from Jason Ironhart, but Vacit and the Vorlons had beaten them to the punch, and Vacit had found out what made Winters more than just a P5 telepath.

"I'll protect you, Talia. I won't let them harm you!" he said gently to her. Talia was all he had left, after all, and she had done too much for him to have him lash out at her as the tide of battle went against them.

Day broke over the base camp and Starbuck, Helo, Boomer, and Anders were already assembled in the command center tent, going over the plan for the assault one last time. "We're as ready as we can be." Starbuck said to the others after finishing her briefing.

She was about to dismiss the briefing, but Anders stood up and asked to say something. "I figured since it's just the four of us here, I would go ahead and do this." Anders said as he walked up to Starbuck.

Starbuck looked over at Boomer and Helo and began to get an idea of what might be up by the beaming smiles and glistening moisture in the eyes of her two friends. It was confirmed when Anders stood in front of her, then went down on one knee. "Will you marry me, Kara?"

"Now you ask me?" Starbuck said with a laugh, disbelieving what she was seeing before her eyes. "I was hoping you would wait until after we won before doing this!"

Anders shrugged and said, "I've waited too long as it is. So what will it be, Kara?"

"You bet your ass I'll marry you! Now slip that ring on my finger so you can get up and kiss me!" Starbuck said, and the four of them chuckled as Anders slipped on the ring, then got to his feet and kissed his intended. After their liplock ended, she said, "Now that's over with, can we get on with the war now? I'd like to get this over with so I can get busy with planning nuptials!"

Anders hugged her and kissed her again, then went over to his pack and put it on, then grabbed his rifle as the others did likewise. They assembled in the ground between the base camp and hastily assembled spaceport with the others. With little ceremony, they departed with their forces and began to move out and towards the enemy.


	95. Home Invasion

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Ninety-Five**

**Home Invasion**

It was just her luck. Starbuck was about to be ambushed when Anders pushed her out of the way, only to be shot himself by a Centurion that had snuck up behind them. To make matters worse, she had been shot anyway in the leg. Starbuck had managed to fire off some rounds to ward off the enemy before dragging her fiancé behind some rubble in the remnants of the spaceport.

But her bad luck wasn't as bad as she had thought as she lay in the mobile medical unit, as the wound from her leg had actually come from a ricocheted bullet and was easily fixed. Anders, despite being shot five times, had them hit him in places where they didn't do a whole lot of damage, and wouldn't have because of the flak jacket he was wearing. They had gotten through, but the jacket had killed most of their velocity and deflected them away from his vital organs. His survival was helped by Helo trailing behind them and blowing the sneaky Centurion away before it could do more damage.

Once she was sure Anders would be okay, she got herself dressed and used some crutches to help propel herself into the command headquarters to follow the battle. David Sheridan led the ground forces in her stead, sharing command with Helo and Boomer, and they were just about to enter the Cylon base after enduring the advance through open ground, where they had taken a huge amount of casualties. The sounds of combat were heard through the speakers as they kept track of all the units that had entered the base.

"Taking heavy fire from that position over there! Bronco, can you clear out those tin cans for us?" Helo asked one of the Marine sergeants in his group.

"Sure can! Hang on a second and I'll toast those babies properly!" Bronco replied. The sound of a PPG bazooka going off was soon met by huge explosion, and smaller sounds of grenades being launched followed, with the resulting blasts coming seconds later. "That cleared those bastards out!"

Helo waited a moment and then said, "Looks like it to me! Okay, let's move!" The sounds of footsteps crunching the ground came through the link, and Starbuck's imagination began to shape what was visually going on in her mind. She had learned too much about ground combat during this operation to not have an idea of what Helo and the others were going through.

As they approached the largest building in the base complex, resistance grew thicker as they grew closer. Centurions were teaming up against their forces in ways that they hadn't done before, and ambushes were more prevalent. They took more losses the closer they moved towards what looked to them to be where Vacit and the main Cylon leadership were held up.

They pressed their assault through the night, and Starbuck needed a break from watching the reports come in. She told the others to inform her if something drastic happened, then went back to check on her fiancé. He was asleep when she entered the infirmary, so she pulled over a chair and sat down beside him. When she touched his arm, his eyes opened up and he looked over at her. "Hey." Anders said as he smiled at recognizing her.

"Hey. How do you feel?" Starbuck asked.

"Like I've been shot, Captain Obvious!" Anders replied, and Starbuck gave him the raspberries before laughing softly, trying not to disturb the other wounded patients in the mobile unit. She took his hand and gently kissed it, brushing it against her cheek. "I'm okay, Kara. Gods only know why, but I'm still here and the docs say that I'll be fine with some rest. They'll be moving me out when things calm down enough to allow transports to head up to the fleet."

She was about to say something when Ivanova walked into the room. "Kara?" she said.

"What is it?" Starbuck asked, then she saw the look in Ivanova's face and realized that something had gone very, very wrong. "What's happened?"

Ivanova struggled to say it, which only meant it was very bad news. "Helo and Boomer…are gravely wounded. They're on their way here. Medics are bringing them in, but the message we got was that they were both messed up pretty bad!"

Starbuck looked over at Anders, who nodded to her to let her know it was okay for her to go. She quickly kissed his hand and placed it back down beside him, then walked out of the room with Ivanova and went to the triage area to await the patients' arrival.

When Helo entered the room, she realized it was bad. "Bastards got the jump on us! Apparently one of them got hold of one of our grenade launchers and used it against us. Helo's lost both his legs and bleeding heavily. Boomer got hit with a lot of shrapnel, and we've had a hell of a time staunching the bleeding. I'm sorry, Starbuck, but we did the best we could!"

Starbuck nodded and looked at her two friends. Helo was unresponsive as they worked to save his life, moving him quickly to a surgical table. They were doing the same with Boomer, and all Starbuck and Ivanova could do was wait and get a better account as to what had happened.

It turned out that the Centurions had gotten the grenade launcher from a previous ambush where they had temporarily overran a position and killed several foot soldiers. The machines had lured Helo's unit into a trap and they had been attacked from a perfect ambush position. One of the grenades had gone off near Helo and took off his legs just above the knees. Another blast had ripped apart several other soldiers, and Boomer had been caught up in the storm of debris from yet another one that had landed long and had blown up in a supply area, which threw lots of small parts at her.

The surgeons did their very best to save them, but the damage was too extensive. Both had lost a huge amount of blood, and even though they had enough synthetic blood to give them each a transfusion, it wouldn't have been in time to prevent irreparable damage from being done to their bodies. Helo, mercifully, expired first, while Boomer held on for most of the night until her body just shut down on her. When they covered Boomer up with her bed sheet, it was too much for Starbuck, who turned to Ivanova and buried her face into her shoulder as she broke down.

Ivanova patted her head and gently said, "Go ahead and cry, Kara. There's no shame in that!" The entil'zha's eyes were also misty and Ivanova was having a hard time in composing herself.

It wasn't long, though, before they regained their strength and came back into the command center. By then everyone knew what had happened and didn't need to say anything else about it. The time to mourn would come later. Now, though, their forces were just about to enter the heart of the Cylon command center, and the final victory was almost at hand.

Kevin Vacit could hear the intense firefight from the ventilation ducts that brought air down to the underground bunkers where he and Talia Winters were hold up in. Talia Winters tried to hold up a brave face against everything was going on, but her fear was radiating from her and lit her up in Vacit's mind's eye like a Christmas tree. Vacit, though, was annoyed and angry with all that wasn't going on, and was busy trying to come up with anyway to escape his fate.

Lucifer, one of Vacit's main IL-series leaders of the Cylons, came into the room, bowed before Vacit and said, "Imperious Leader, the enemy has breached the penultimate perimeter two levels above us! Do you wish to attempt to flee and regroup somewhere else?"

Vacit contemplated for a moment, but then he felt the mind of his enemy in the area. An idea came to him and he quickly sent a telepathic message to Winters, whose eyes lit up when she realized what he was asking of her. She looked at him wide-eyed for a couple of moments, then nodded her head at him. Vacit smiled and turned to Lucifer, saying, "Tell the enemy that we wish to discuss terms for surrender."

"Surrender? Imperious Leader, please! We can't give up! What will we do?"

Lucifer begged of Vacit.

"Don't worry. I'm going to ask them to let those remaining leave the planet and head away from the system. Just trust me, Lucifer!" Vacit said.

Lucifer replied, "If it is your will, then so be it. By your command, we'll surrender." Vacit nodded and Lucifer went off to inform the others. Shortly thereafter, the gunfire ceased. Winters looked over at him and asked, "Sure you want to do this?"

Vacit nodded and said, "We have no choice, Talia."

An hour later, Starbuck, Ivanova, and Hollifield were outside Vacit's headquarters, awaiting for him to emerge. Under the terms of the surrender, all the remaining Centurions were to surrender and deactivate themselves, while the IL-series would surrender themselves to the allies and place themselves under arrest.

They were all awaiting Vacit to come out of the headquarters and turn himself over to them. Hollifield was losing patience with him, so he asked for a megaphone and spoke into it, "Vacit, you have five minutes to come out or we'll come in after you! We have plenty of former Psi Cops and former Bloodhounds here to be sure you can't try any tricks."

Vacit emerged with a gun in his hand and Talia Winters in his grasp. The gun was a PPG and had a full charge, and Vacit held it to the side of Winters' head. "Hollifield! Where are you? Show yourself!" Vacit yelled.

"Cover me! I can protect myself well enough. Just don't fire on him unless he kills the hostage first!" Hollifield said. He then got up and said, "I'm here, Vacit! What do you want?"

"Send away the troops or I kill Ms. Winters! I know you want me alive, Hollifield, and the only way you'll get that is to send your forces back!"

"Why, Vacit? You're not in any position to bargain!" Hollifield retorted.

"You want to know why you are the way you are? You want to know the truth about the Colonial gods? You want to know what the Vorlons were really up to? Come inside here and we'll talk, and I'll tell you everything!" Vacit said.

Hollifield looked at Ivanova, Cain, and Starbuck, then back to Vacit. "Deal, on the condition that all the other Cylon machines turn themselves over to my forces. I want it just to be me, you, and Ms. Winters."

Vacit agreed and sent out all the remaining Cylons in the building. Once they were all clear, Vacit said, "No one's left in the building! You can tell, I know you can! So what will it be?"

Hollifield turned to Ivanova and said, "Send the troops back. I'm going in there!"

"Are you mad? He wants to kill you!" Ivanova said.

"That's true, Mr. President! You don't know what he's got planned!" Starbuck added.

Hollifield smiled and said, "He doesn't know what I know, nor what I can do. Besides, if he even tries to kill me, he won't succeed. I know he's powerful, but he's not as powerful as I am!" He walked around the collapsed wall where they had been standing and towards the building.

As he made his way slowly to Vacit, Ivanova said, "Of all the people to be with that bastard, why her?" She shook her head.

Cain replied, "He's using her to mess with us, I'm sure of it! He knows he's lost the war, so what's his game now?"

"Whatever it is, it had better not be killing Hollifield, or else I'll take my time in killing that ancient creep!" Starbuck said.

Hollifield finally made it to the entrance to the building and said, "I guess I'm to go first?"

Vacit nodded and gestured with his gun for Hollifield to enter the building, following him with Winters still in his grasp. Instead of looking scared for her life, she looked like someone who was not afraid to have her brains fried by a blast from the PPG. When they turned into the building, Talia caught a glimpse of Ivanova and shot her an evil smile, which sent a chill up her spine.

"Get those Psi Cops and Bloodhounds up here! I don't give a damn what he said, I want them ready to go if that bastard kills the president!" Ivanova said into her link. She looked back with worry, wondering what was going on deep inside that building.


	96. Galactic Genealogy

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Ninety-Six**

**Galactic Genealogy **

It was a surreal scene as they walked into Vacit's office. It was a plain room with only three chairs, a desk, and a doorway. No decorations on the gray walls, no windows outside, with the only light coming from inset lightstrips in the ceiling. "Sit down, Hollifield. Talia, please get the other chair and bring it around to my side of the desk." Vacit coolly said, and the female telepath did as he said with a smile on her face. Vacit sat down and Talia seated herself next to him, not flinching when he placed the gun right next to her head yet again.

"Sit, please, Mr. President!" Vacit said, gesturing with the gun. Hollifield slowly put his hindquarters in the chair, not taking his eyes off Vacit as he did so. Vacit's smile seemed predatory on his leathery-winkled skin.

"So let's cut to the chase, shall we? What are these secrets you wanted to tell me?" Hollifield said evenly. He could feel Vacit probing at the mental blocks in his head, thrown up instinctively by his mind to prevent telepathic intrusion. He said nothing about it and decided to see how much he could drain Vacit by having him vainly try to break into his mind.

"You know about the Vorlons and Shadows, obviously, and you know about the First Ones. What if I told you that everything you knew about them wasn't entirely accurate?" Vacit said.

"Wouldn't surprise me. All of them were secretive as hell. So what's so different about them?"

"The Vorlons were much more intrusive in the human race than we ever thought they were. For thousands of years, they manipulated us so that they could use us against the Shadows in their wars.

"It wasn't just about telepathy, either. It was about control as well. They saw great potential in us, and wanted to speed us up to the front of the class. But they realized that Earth was in a bad part of space, close enough for the Shadows to attack if they suspected the Vorlons of what they were up to."

Hollifield shrugged and said, "That's nothing new. But I guess there's more to all of this?"

Vacit nodded and continued, "The Vorlons weren't the only ones who saw potential in us. The Shadows did as well, and sought to divide us and deny the Vorlons of our services. Why do you think that, throughout their history, the vast majority of technomages are humans?"

Hollifield thought that over for a moment, then asked, "That never occurred to me before now, but the real question is: what does this have to do with the Colonials?"

"Ah, yes. Them! You see there was a third race interested in humanity. They were much older than the Vorlons and Shadows, and saw us as the key to preventing the two races from dominating the galaxy. They were an old, ancient race, and knew that their time here was running out. They saw us as their successors.

"Over the eons, they took some humans from Earth and sent them to a world well away from our homeworld. There they began to enlighten us and cultivate us. They came to us as gods, not as a singular god."

"So they're the ones behind the Greek gods?" Hollifield asked.

"Indeed they are. Why is it that all the ancient religions, the ones older than Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, all have multiple gods? Ever ponder that?"

"Not since college when I took that world religions class. So you're saying that this race were behind these abductions?"

"Of course! They knew we were in danger from the Shadows as well. They didn't think the Vorlons would harm us, but they wouldn't go out of their way to protect us. So they took humans to a world where they could protect us and develop us, and I guess you know where that might be." Vacit looked at him, expecting Hollifield to fill in the blank.

"Kobol?" Hollifield replied, and Vacit nodded. "So why the exodus?"

"The Vorlons didn't like this race having their own little side project so close to their territory. Over two thousand years ago, they made the decision to force out this race from Kobol and take the remnants to a system inside their territory."

"And what about the thirteenth colony?"

"They were already there. You see this race was also fermenting our development as well. Why do you think there was so much development among the Greeks, the Indians, the Chinese, the Mayans, and so on?

"Around this time the Vorlons became much more interested in us. They saw our potential to become telepaths and be used in their wars. They wanted to get rid of this race's interference and have the human race all to themselves."

Hollifield raised an eyebrow and said, "So the Vorlons were behind the exodus?"

"Indeed. They were the ones who attacked Kobol and they were the ones who rid the Colonials of their "gods". They still wanted the Colonials to believe in them, of course, so they simply took over the role of their gods.

"As for Earth, they took another tact. They decided that they would concentrate humanity on more monotheistic faiths, centering on the one god. They'd been doing that since the time of Moses, but stepped up their efforts when they saw our potential as telepaths."

"So all of our religion was dictated to us from these aliens?"

"Yes. Granted, it wasn't a complete Vorlon success. The Shadows managed to sneak their way into each religion in some way, shape or form, usually sometime during the early development in the religion so that they can format conflict and rebellion. Why do you think all of our religions seem to be so fragmented with divisions? Shiite and Sunni, Orthodox and Reformed, Catholic and Protestant!

"We were their chessboard, and the prize was galactic domination for victory! They used us, Garrison, just as the Colonials used Cylons and mundanes used us!"

Hollifield was having a hard time figuring all of this out and determining whether Vacit was telling him the truth or not. Vacit's mind was very unique, almost like a machine. He could see why powerful telepaths wouldn't want to probe inside of it. He could hide his abilities well, having passed himself off as a normal decades before.

But this last part of the conversation struck a cord with Hollifield, and he said, "So instead of being a pawn, you want to become grand master?"

"You could say that!" Vacit said.

"I know why you left Earth. Lyta Alexander told me about that years ago. She also told me about the time Michael Garibaldi and her came to this world, years ago, because they thought that the Psi Corps, specifically Bester, had an interest here."

"Back then, I hadn't met the Cylons yet. I was just content to live out the rest of my existence here, not knowing if I could ever free my people from mundane domination. Roughly a week after Lyta and Garibaldi departed, the Cylons came here, looked around the place, and were impressed at what I could do for them.

"I used the abandoned Vorlon experiments here to design the biomechanical systems that they now use, which led to the human Cylon clones."

Hollifield exhaled slowly and said, "But why did you side with them against the Colonials? Why did you allow them to kill twelve billion people?"

Vacit smiled and said, "That's the beauty of it, Garrison! I had to cleanse those worlds! My plan was to unite our two races! Think of it! Human Cylons with telepathic abilities! Perhaps even with telekinetic abilities, like you have! I wanted to bring the telepaths on Earth, give them Kobol as our homeworld, and use our genes to design the next phase of the human race!"

A chill ran down the spine of Hollifield when the implications struck him. "So, in essence, you wanted to play God?"

"Yes! Just because the Vorlons and Shadows were gone doesn't mean we shouldn't have one race dominant in this galaxy! I wanted that to be our race! The Cylons wanted to evolve from their machines and into human form, and I would be their conduit to do just that!"

Hollifield leaned forward and exclaimed, "But this is madness! What about the telepaths who were not Cylons? What about them?"

"They would be phased out over the decades by cross-breeding. You see the experiments we were doing were just the first step. Mundanes are expendable, so I used them for the first part of the experiment. Even with the nuclear attacks, I knew we wouldn't kill off all the humans from the Colonial worlds. Since they were expendable as well, why not use them for the breeding?"

"And what about the original models? What would become of them?"

Vacit shrugged and said, "When the time came, they would become obsolete and destroyed. It's evolution, Garrison, our evolution! If you hadn't turned your back on your kind, we would have realized this vision!"

Instead of rising to the bait, he turned to Talia and asked, "So how did you get hooked up with Vacit?"

Winters looked uneasy as she answered, "I was abducted by the Vorlons and brought her for my own protection."

"Why didn't Lyta and Garibaldi see you?"

"I hid from them. Vacit thought it was the wise thing to do."

"So why did you help him?"

"Because I felt it was the destiny of our people! We were hindered by the normals and traitors like you from assuming our rightful place in the human race. We…" Winters stopped and grabbed her temples, obviously in pain.

"Talia! What's the matter?" Vacit said as he put down the gun and looked at his longtime assistant.

Hollifield used his telekinesis to grab the weapon while Vacit was distracted. "While we were having this conversation, Vacit, I've been doing a little poking around in her brain. You see Bester didn't just have one sleeper program inside his head."

"What are you talking about?" Vacit yelled.

"I knew Winters was here, and I knew what Ironhart had given her. You see, I helped free him from Psi Corps custody, years ago! Rather, my associates within the Corps did, along with the rogues that I worked with."

Talia cried out in pain and bent down to sit her head on the table. "Stop what you're doing to her! You're going to kill her!"

"I'm not going to kill her. You see the sleeper program that the Psi Corps had buried inside her never did destroy the original personality, only shoved it inside a box deep within the brain. Thanks to Bester, I've slowly begun to free that personality from is prison, as well as the gift that she was given."

Talia suddenly shot up straight in her chair, her eyes aglow with the light of something truly alien. "Leave this place, Hollifield! Leave now!"

Hollifield pocketed the gun and raced out of the room, as fast as his old legs could carry him. While he had been conversing with Vacit, his mind had snuck around his notice and began the final stages of freeing the original Talia from her implanted personality.

"You used me! You used me to kill billions of people!" Talia growled as she stood up from the chair.

"No! I did only what I thought was right!" Vacit said as he fell to the floor with a look of sheer terror on his face.

"You wanted to play God! You wanted to keep us from our real destiny! You will pay!" Winters said as the room began to vibrate. Vacit looked around and saw the walls begin to undulate. Over him, Talia Winters looked down at him and said, "Time for you to pay for your crimes!" Vacit screamed as Talia took him apart piece by piece.

Hollifield stormed out of the building and raced away faster than he ever thought he could run. The vibrations coming from deep under the ground were growing more intense, and he began to stumble. He fell several times, but managed to get up and race away from the area.

"What's going on?" Ivanova asked as Hollifield ducked behind the building where she stood with Cain and the others while waiting for his return.

"I'll explain later! C'mon! We need to get away from here!" Hollifield said as he gestured to them to flee the city.

Buildings began to collapse all around them as they ran out of the complex. Once they got out to the flat lands, the vibrations coming from the ground eased up, so they stopped to turn and watch what was about to happen.

With a great explosion, the complex went up, scattering debris everywhere. Out of it came an immense being of light, which ascended to above the rooftops of the base.

"Susan!" The being cried out in the voice of Talia Winters.

"Talia?" Ivanova replied softly.

"Thank you for your love! I am leaving now, to join with Jason and explore the galaxy! May you find happiness with another soon! I shall be watching!

"And Garrison, I shall see you again, many eons from now!" The being began to rise above the surface of the planet and ascend to the heavens. Talia raced past the allied ships and flew away from them, onward and outward towards the stars.

From the briefing room inside _Galactica_, Admiral Adama, Apollo and Laura Roslin watched all of this in disbelief. Galen and Alwyn had joined them to show them what was going on, joined by Dureena Nafeel, G'Leel, and Na'Toth. The probes, which Vacit had never managed to find, had showed them everything inside the room.

Silence reigned around the table for a long time before Roslin broke it by saying, "Please tell me that what I just saw really happened."

"It really happened." Galen said dryly, then admitted, "I can't believe it myself, but it happened."

Alwyn added, "Just when you think you've seen it all!"

"So what do we do about all of this?" Apollo asked.

"I don't know, son. That's something that we'll have to consider in time. Now, though, I want to get some rest. Gods know I need a vacation." Adama said.

"Gods?" Roslin said, still shaken by what she'd seen.

"Listen, Laura. We don't know if what Vacit said was true, or if what the Vorlons claimed in that vision that Starbuck saw on Kobol was true or not. That's what faith is all about, and we need that right now even after beating the Cylons!" Adama replied.

Roslin nodded and said, "You're right, Bill."

Alwyn suddenly laughed and said, "Well, I don't know about you, but I am rather sick of the doom and gloom! I say we celebrate our victory!"

They all looked at him in silence for a moment, and Alwyn wondered if he'd made a huge faux pas. Adama walked over to a nearby cabinet, opened it, looked inside and found a false door inside. He opened that and pulled out a hidden bottle of ambrosia. He walked back to the table and placed the bottle down on the table. "The man's right. Lee, go get some glasses!"

Apollo smiled and said, "Yes, sir!". He left and returned soon after with some drinking glasses, enough for all of them. Once they were distributed, Adama broke the seal off the bottle, opened it, and poured them all a shot. He raised his glass and gave a toast, "To all of us!" They toasted and drank down the sweet liqueur.

Back on the world, Starbuck had the bodies of Helo and Boomer prepared for transport back home. As they were loaded onto Anders' Whitestar, her wounded fiancé wheeled himself over to her.

"We won, but we paid a price for it. Damned if we didn't pay a price for it!" Anders said quietly.

"I know. Now we have to go back home and figure out where we go from here. Frankly, I have no idea what's to become of us." Starbuck replied.

"We'll figure something out. When do we head back?" Anders asked.

Starbuck turned and saw Hollifield, Cain, and Ivanova walking towards them, and said to Anders, "Once they're aboard, we'll leave from home. Once we get there, we can start to figure all of this out!"

Anders laughed and said, "I don't want to figure it all out. I just want to get back home, heal up, and play some pyramid!"

Starbuck wanted to laugh, but her heavy heart just wouldn't let her. "You know, I thought I'd be celebrating the defeat of the Cylons. Instead, I'm just numb inside."

Just then, Hollifield, Ivanova, and Cain walked up to them. They looked like Starbuck felt: exhausted, drained, and worn down. "Let's go home." Hollifield said simply. Without another word, the five of them boarded the Whitestar and soon they were on their way home.


	97. Picking Up The Pieces

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Ninety-Seven**

**Picking Up The Pieces**

The war was over. As it always seemed to her, Ivanova couldn't believe it at first. She always expected the enemy, even after their defeat, to somehow come out of the woodwork and attack again anyway. But the Cylons were silent, having surrendered and allowed themselves to be isolated on Marcab under the supervision of the Interstellar Alliance.

It was a time of transition for those on Kobol. Now that the Cylons were gone, the Colonials were really beginning the process of settling into their new home. They had rebuilt the Temple to house their religious ceremonies, the Forum to serve as their center of government, and the Opera House to serve as their main cultural center. They had tried to resurrect the old city of the Gods by maintaining to the blueprint set out in the Sacred Scrolls.

It was at the dedication of a monument to those Colonials who had died during what was being called the Second Cylon War that Susan Ivanova and Nelena Cain had a chance to spend some time alone together. After the war, Cain had returned to Kobol to help Admiral William Adama with the set up of the Colonial Defense Force, while Ivanova had gone back to Tuzinor to resume her duties as Entil'zha.

After the ceremony, Ivanova took a break from the reception to go over to Cain's apartment to have a talk that they've both wanted to have for a long time. Over the years, they knew that there was an attraction there, but neither of them had a chance during the war to act upon it. Cain had left discreetly earlier so that suspicions were kept to a minimum and to prepare the place for the meeting.

When Cain opened the door to her flat and welcomed Ivanova inside, the Russian was taken by the sight of the late day's sun streaming in through the window, which set a very nice mood for the meeting. Cain was still in her dress uniform from earlier in the day, while Ivanova wore the uniform of the Entil'zha, which was a long flowing brown robe, black tunic, and black pants.

While on Earth, Cain had gained a taste for iced sweet tea, which was the specialty of a restaurant in Geneva that she ate at on a regular basis and was renown for its American (specifically that of the southeastern part of the country) cuisine. She sat a chilled glass full of the refreshing liquid down in front of Ivanova and took one of her own to the seat next to Ivanova.

"Ahhhh…that's good!" Ivanova said as she sipped some of the cool drink. She sat the glass back down on the coaster and turned to Cain and asked, "So, where do we go from here?"

Cain paused to sip some of her own tea and to think of what she wanted to say. "Well, I think you know by now that I have a lot of feelings for you. I never expected to have these feelings for another woman. I never expected to have feelings for anyone ever again."

"I know. I was kind of surprised myself, especially considering how we first met." Ivanova said.

Cain laughed at the memory. "You know, in all my years, I've never known anyone, male or female, to yell that loud to me or anyone else!"

Ivanova laughed as well, then added, "Well, your fighters had shot up some of mine, so I was highly pissed. Yelling was the least of what I wanted to do to you at that moment."

Cain gave her a look and asked, "So what do you want to do to me now?" She had intended it as a joke, but Ivanova's face changed and she got up off the couch and walked over to her. She reached down and took Cain by the hand, lifting her up to a standing position. They stared into each other's eyes for a long time in silence before Ivanova raised her hand up and brushed Cain's cheek with it softly.

"You sure you want to get involved with me?" Cain asked Ivanova softly. Ivanova nodded and leaned in towards her, touching Cain's lips with her own and gently kissing her. Cain's hand came up behind Ivanova's head and pulled her in closer. Their bodies came together as they embraced and kissed with slowly building passion.

After a few moments of that, they moved to the bedroom and Cain laid down on the bed as Ivanova climbed on top of her and started to make out with her. Both took their time with this, giving the other the chance to bail out if they didn't feel comfortable with what was going on, but neither was willing to stop. They slowly undressed each other and, as the sun set in the west, their naked bodies touched for the first time.

Nelena Cain had been with a woman sexually before, but that had been in military college and that had never been more than just a casual thing. Muriana Bolinaras had graduated with her, but after her commitment was up, she had decided to go into civilian life. After Nelena had divorced, they had gotten together from time to time, but it was never more than just a friends-with-benefits deal, as Muriana had married an artist who was bisexual and didn't object to their liaisons.

This was different, though. Nelena had grown close to Susan over the years, and now realized that Susan had felt the same love for her as she had. Their lovemaking was slow and sensual as they took their time exploring each other's bodies. Nelena had never imagined that sex could be this powerful, this beautiful, and this intense.

They fell asleep in each other's arms, only to wake up sometime during the night to make love again. They woke the next morning lying beside one another as the sun came in from the east-facing windows of the bedroom. Susan ran her fingers through Nelena's graying hair and softly said, "I guess I'm not too old for something like this after all!"

Nelena smiled and kissed Susan's breast, burying her head into her new lover's shoulder. "I'm just glad that we came together! I've wanted so much to be with you, but we never had the chance to do anything about it until now!"

"I know, but we can be together now. We're both getting older and the time's approaching where we'll have to pass the torch on to the next generation."

Nelena nodded as she ran her hand over Susan's belly, tracing her bellybutton with her finger. "Apollo can handle the duties of commanding the fleet along with his father, so I can step down and move to Tuzinor to be with you, if you'd like."

Susan smiled and said, "You'd do that for me?"

Nelena rose up and moved so that she was face to face with Susan and said, "For you, I'd do anything to be with you!" Susan smiled and pulled her in for another kiss, and they made love once again. After all the pain they had both been through, they both enjoyed the fact that they had found happiness with one another.

Several streets over, in the Forum, Apollo was officially being promoted to commander. As his father pinned the new rank badges onto his uniform, Lee Adama couldn't help but notice some moisture in his father's eyes. Their estrangement was long in the past, and they were the closest that they had ever been. Losing his brother Zak still hurt him deeply, but he no longer blamed his father for what had happened, because he had come to realize that his own father blamed himself far more than Lee ever could.

The reception afterwards gave him the opportunity to make an announcement of his own. Dee Dualla came up to him with a beaming smile, picked up a glass and a spoon, and tapped the side of the glass with the spoon to attract everyone's notice. "May I have your attention please?" the young representative to the Quorum said, "Commander Adama wishes to make an announcement to you all!"

Laura Roslin and Admiral Adama looked over at them with some surprise, not realizing what was going on. Apollo looked at Dee and then said, "I would like to announce that I asked Dee to marry me last night and she accepted my proposal!" Applause and shouts of glee rang through the hall, and Admiral Adama came over to hug his son and his daughter-in-law-to-be. As he embraced his son, the elder Adama joked, "You're determined to get me to cry in public, aren't you?"

"Can't fool you, can I, Dad?" Apollo joked back, and Adama smiled and patted his son on the back. He left his son's side as the others came up to the engaged couple to congratulate them. Roslin hung back and Adama walked back to join her at their table.

"They make a lovely couple, don't they?" Roslin said with a smile.

"Indeed they do. With Starbuck getting married in a few weeks, this dress uniform will get plenty of use over the next year or so." Adama replied.

"You look handsome in it, Bill." Roslin said.

Adama nodded and replied, "Thanks! Nice to know one of us thinks I'm still handsome!" Roslin laughed and sipped some of the wine in her glass. Adama went on, saying, "So when do you go back to Minbar?"

"Whenever Entil'zha Ivanova goes back, because I'm hitching a ride with her on her personal craft. Those Whitestars don't waste time getting where they're going, that's for sure!"

"Indeed! Doing anything for dinner?" Adama asked.

Roslin's eyes went wide momentarily and she said with a smile, "Are you asking me out, Admiral?"

"I do believe I am, Madam President!" Adama said, returning the grin.

"Well, I would be glad to go to dinner with you tonight. Besides, I'm a lousy cook and I'm always up for eating out!"

"You think you're bad, Laura! You should have seen some of the crap I fixed for myself after I got divorced!" Roslin laughed and they sat back down to the table to chat some more, watching on as the long line of well-wishers surrounded the newly engaged couple.

From another table, Galen Tyrol and his wife Fabiana, pregnant with yet another child, sat with Garrison Hollifield and his wife Twanissa, looking on at Lee and Dee as they weathered the storm of excited people congratulating them and waiting until it subsided before giving the couple their own best wishes.

"This is what makes this victory sweet, you know?" Garrison Hollifield mused.

"What is that?" Galen asked.

"Seeing couples in love and getting married." Garrison pointed to Fabiana and said, "Seeing families come together and grow. That's what makes all the sacrifice worth it."

Fabiana noticed her husband had cast his eyes downward. "You're thinking of them again, aren't you?"

Galen nodded and said, "Yeah. I just wished Boomer and Helo could be here to see this! It took me a long time to come to terms with those two being together, even though it was another Boomer instead of the Sharon I knew. Now they won't be able to see their son grow."

Twanissa sighed and said, "I remember when a friend of mine in school had both her parents killed in the Dilgar War on the same day. They were on different ships and in different systems when they perished in attacks. She never was quite the same after that, but she's still around. She's Catholic, and she went into the priesthood. Last I had heard, she ran a monastery outside of Canberra."

Garrison added, "I miss them too." He sighed and added, "Even though I know that their sacrifice wasn't in vain, it still doesn't take away the pain of losing people like that. We lost so many young men and women during this war."

Just then, Ivanova and Cain came in together, and the four at Hollifield's table looked at them as they made their way to the lucky couple. Galen asked, "Do you think the rumor of them being an item is true?"

"If it is, then I'm happy for the both of them!" Garrison said, "I've suspected that they might get together, and now with the war over with, it seems like that they have. Feels a lot like spring to me, doesn't it honey?" He looked over at his wife as he asked that question.

Twanissa smiled and replied, "It certainly does, my dear! It certainly does!"


	98. Binding The Past With The Future

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Ninety-Eight**

**Binding The Past With The Future**

Dr. Michelle "Shelly" Regina Godfrey had two children that she had given birth to with her former husband, but her third stood before her in the newly rebuilt spaceport in Caprica City. It had been a year since liberation and the Gaians had done an amazing job with the place. Sure the radiation levels made long-term exposure bad for humans, but the Gaians were designed to be resistant to the radiation and had made this place their own.

Gina Godfrey stood before her with tears in her eyes, and her "mother" was also crying. They had grown so close in the eight years since Shelly had met this clone of herself. There were plenty of others, but Gina always seemed like the daughter she never had.

"I wish you would come back to Earth with me, Gina, but I understand why you want to be here! I'll miss you terribly though!" Shelly said through her tears.

"I know, mother, but this is so very important to my people! I'll miss you so badly, but I'll be able to visit still from time to time! Besides, I'd love to show you a granddaughter the next time I see you!" Gina said.

"Grandmother! Me?" Shelly said with a start. "Are you…?"

Gina laughed and said, "No, I'm not pregnant yet. James and I are still working on it, though."

"Well, as long as you two are happy, that's fine with me, grandchild or no grandchild!" Shelly said with a smile despite the tears.

An hour later, Shelly was on board the shuttle and heading back to Earth. Clarissa Cally and General (retired) Sharon Valerii were with her on board the transport, having visited their own clones on Caprica. "They're like our children, you know?" Shelly said.

"Yeah, I guess you can say that. I never had time to get married, much less have kids. My political ambitions got in the way of all that." Clarissa replied.

"Being in the military kind of killed it off for me, so I know how you feel. I've tried relationships in the past, but it never seemed to work out. My mom always fussed at me for not having kids, God rest her soul. Wonder what she would think of all of this if she were alive?" Sharon said.

"Knowing your mom, Boomer, she'd shake her head and tell you to take her back to Tulsa or something like that! I hate that she's not around anymore, because I always liked her."

Clarissa sighed and said, "Look at the three of us! We're in our late forties, not little old ladies! We've still got plenty of years ahead of us! Sure, our child bearing years are over, but we've still got plenty of life in us yet!"

They both looked at her with some surprise, and Shelly said, "Wait a second! What did you do with the old Senator Cally?"

Clarissa laughed and said, "Amazing what losing your political ambition can do to you! Tell you what: since we all live in Geneva these days, why don't we plan a trip to somewhere sunny once we get the chance and go scope out some guys! You know, act like teens, for Pete's sake!"

As they laughed and gabbed about what they would do when they got back to Earth, light years away on Kobol, Lee Adama was nervous as hell as he watched his bride come down the aisle on the arm of Garrison Hollifield, who had accepted the invitation from Dee Dualla to escort her down the aisle. Admiral Adama, Lee's father, was best man, with Galen Tyrol and Samuel Anders serving as bridegrooms. Former Colonial president Laura Roslin served as maid of honor, while current Colonial president Sarah Porter and Kara "Starbuck" Thrace-Anders were bridesmaids.

The ceremony was short and sweet, as the couple exchanged their vows and the priest declared them man and wife. Colonial wedding tradition didn't have music as part of the ceremony, saving it exclusively for the reception, which was held in the large reception hall adjacent to the main sanctuary of the Temple.

The reception was far from short, but just as sweet, as the dinner was magnificent, the orchestra was outstanding, and the dancing was…well, most of the dancers were fairly good. Adama and Roslin had danced a few slow dances, but generally kept to the sidelines and enjoyed watching the newlyweds cut a rug.

"She's one hell of a daughter-in-law for you, Bill. I think she'll make Apollo a very happy man!" Roslin said.

"Dee's practically been a daughter of mine for years now, going back before the holocaust. And I think that Lee will make her a very happy wife." Adama added.

"Sure is nice to see people so much in love with one another!" Roslin said with a smile.

"Indeed it is!" Adama said as the music died down and Starbuck, who was serving as mistress of ceremonies for the reception, brought over the microphone to him.

"And now, to give the traditional toast from the best man to the newly wedded couple…Admiral William Adama!" Starbuck said, then handed the slender microphone over to him. The guests at the reception stood up and gave him a standing ovation, which caught him by surprise at the sheer emotion being shown with the gesture. Even after he gave the universal signal to sit down and let him speak, they kept applauding. Finally, after roughly five minutes, they began to sit back down and give him enough quiet to speak.

"Thirty-five years ago, I was lucky enough to have watched my son Lee being born in the hospital. Despite the difficulties of my marriage to his mother ending in divorce and the death of his younger brother Zak, I always loved him and felt proud that he was my son. Through it all, he's exceeded every expectation I ever had for him, and I had some pretty high ones.

"I haven't always been the best of fathers to him, but he's been the best of sons to me, and I know he will make an outstanding husband and father. Gods bless you, Lee and Dee!" Adama raised his glass in a toast to his son, who smiled beamingly back to him.

Starbuck waited for the microphone with an open hand, but Adama had other plans before giving it back. After the crowd finished applauding the toast, there was a buzz when Adama still held the microphone. "I have one more thing I'd like to say, or, better yet, ask."

He turned around to Roslin, who was been standing beside him, and began to get down on one knee. Her eyes went wide as loud gasps went through the room, clearly surprised at what they were seeing. The only ones not surprised were Lee and Dee, who had known what Adama was planning on doing, since he had asked for their approval before doing this.

"Laura, a year ago, we started dating, not expecting it to be anything more than friendship. But in this year, we've grown a lot closer to one another, more than either of us ever expected. So I want to ask for you to be my wife and to marry me!" Adama produced a ring out of his pocket and showed it to Roslin.

Roslin asked for the microphone and Adama gave it to her. "You are a man of many surprises!" she said, which got a huge uproar of laughter from the crowd. "Yes, Bill, I'll be your wife!" She smiled as Adama placed the ring on her finger and got up to hug and kiss her. Starbuck was staring at them thunderstruck, not expecting anything like this.

"Before I hand the microphone back to Starbuck, I would like the band to strike up a slow tune, so I can dance with my fiancée!" He handed the microphone back to Starbuck and led Roslin out to the dance floor.

After the tune was over, Starbuck came over to Apollo and Dee and said, "You two knew this was coming, didn't you?"

"Yes we did, and that look on your face was worth it all!" Apollo said, and Starbuck mockingly punched him in the shoulder.

"So how long has he been planning this?" Starbuck asked.

"About three or four weeks now. They've been getting very serious as of late, so it didn't come as a surprise to me. Kind of strange when you consider that my dad once had my future mother-in-law imprisoned when you went off to get the Arrow of Apollo." Lee said.

Starbuck nodded, "That seems like a lifetime ago, now that you mention it. We've changed so much, lost so much, but gained so much at the same time. I wonder what would have happened to us if we hadn't run into the Earthers."

"We'd be dead right now. I doubt we could have made it for a whole lot longer, especially considering that we were about to clash with the _Pegasus_ when they found us!" Dee said.

"I'm just glad we did meet them. If not for them, none of this would have been possible." Apollo said, looking over at Garrison Hollifield and his wife as they were congratulating Adama and Roslin over their engagement.

Their wedding took place over a year later, postponed when they found out that Dee was pregnant with Adama's first grandchild. The ceremony was very similar to Lee and Dee's, and the joy seemed to permeate the vacuum of space, as others began to marry as well. Nelena Cain and Susan Ivanova had gotten married in an emotional ceremony on Minbar a couple of years later, and Starbuck wept with joy at seeing her mentor finally find the happiness that she had long sought. Hers were not the only wet eyes in the house, as many of their old friends attended the ceremony.

They had survived the harsh winter of war and now were enjoying the warmth of a springtime of peace. No one knew how long it would last, but they would enjoy it for as long as they could.


	99. Passing The Torch

**Thirteen**

**Chapter Ninety-Nine**

**Passing The Torch**

It was the first day of the Earth year 2300, and was the last day for Susan Ivanova to serve as Entil'Zha. She had decided to spend her sunset years with her partner Nelena Cain back on Earth and pass the torch of responsibility onto her protégé, Kara "Starbuck" Thrace-Anders. It wasn't as if Starbuck didn't have enough on her plate, as she had three kids to ride herd on with her husband Samuel. Karl, Zachary, and Sharon were six, four, and two respectively, and were a handful for all of those who helped Starbuck and her husband with watching over them.

But Starbuck took on the responsibilities of being the leader of the Rangers without a word of complaint, which gladdened Ivanova's heart. As she had said when Ivanova had informed her of the decision, "You, of all people, deserve to ride out into the sunset!"

As in the past, the dawn broke with the rising of the sun, and Starbuck ascended the ramp that led to the platform where the ceremony that would see her become Entil'zha would take place. Delenn, still the Interstellar Alliance president, would preside over the ceremony, as she had when Ivanova had become Entil'zha years before.

Sitting in the front row among the dignitaries were William and Laura Adama, who looked like an old but happy couple. William had retired from his military post and ventured between Kobol, Minbar, and Earth, where he and his wife were popular speakers at colleges and universities. His hair was completely gray these days, but he still held himself as he did back when he was commander of the _Galactica_, which had just undergone another renovation in time for this ceremony.

Garrison Hollifield was sitting with his sister-in-law, D'anna Biers, who represented Twanissa Hollifield, who had passed away a year earlier from a heart attack. Since then, Garrison had been a relative recluse, either staying secluded on his family's estate on Earth or in the Ranger compound on Minbar. This was his first public appearance since his wife's passing, and it was sure to make news across the galaxy.

Lee and Dee Adama were there as well, but their kids were with the babysitters that were taking care of Kara's children. She gave the two a quick smile as she made her way to where she was supposed to stand during the ceremony. The wind kicked up a bit as she looked over the massive crowd assembled to watch Starbuck's ascendancy to Entil'zha.

Serving as her second for the ceremony was David Sheridan, who had been Starbuck's second in command for going on fifteen years now. He still bore a very strong resemblance to his father, even more so now that he was nearing forty. He was married these days as well and had his own kids, which Delenn doted on every chance she could whenever her schedule permitted.

David Sheridan walked over to the table where the ancient text and the chalice of sha'neyat sat, picked up the text, and held it in front of his mother as she read in a dialect that was ancient for even the Minbari. Even though Starbuck was fluent in all three Minbari caste dialects, she barely could make out what Delenn was saying.

Once she was done, she slowly closed the book, raised it above her head to show the crowd, then handed it to her son, who returned it to the table. The most emotional part of the ceremony was about to take place, especially for those from the Colonies.

The son of Boomer and Helo walked towards the platform with a calm expression on his face, tight with concentration as he brought the robe that previous Entil'zhas, starting with Valen over a thousand years before, had worn. It was well over a thousand years old, but the fabric was still in such excellent condition that it felt like it had just been made the other day. He ascended the platform and placed the robe at the feet of Starbuck, then slowly made his way down off the platform backwards. His mother's features were evident in his face, while his height and voice reminded her of a young Helo. He was eighteen now and was already a Ranger, serving on a Whitestar as a tactical officer.

Once he had made it to the back of the throng of people, David brought up the chalice of sha'neyat, which was actually diluted because the real stuff was highly poisonous to humans. It was mostly grape juice with just a tad of the sha'neyat in it, because the caste elders had decided that it would be in bad form if human Entil'zhas were to drop dead because of poisoning shortly after taking the oath of office.

Starbuck took the chalice from David and raised it to show the crowd, then brought it to her lips. As she drank, Delenn spoke aloud, "Taste of it. Taste of the future. Of death, and of life. And of the great void that lies between. Through this act, may death be destroyed!" After sipping just a bit of it, she handed it back to David, surprised that it wasn't as bitter as Ivanova had told her it was. It still tasted terrible, though, and she was glad she only had to taste of it this one time.

Once David had placed the chalice on the table and spoke to the crowd, "As it was said long ago, so now we name her who will lead us. Among the Rangers let Kara Thrace be known as Entil'zha!"

The Rangers in the crowd cried out in unison, "Entil'zha! We live for the One! We die for the One!"

Delenn continued, "Entil'zha! She is the light in darkness. She is the bridge between worlds." The crowd exploded with applause and shouts of approval as Starbuck turned around and headed down the platform, followed by Delenn and David Sheridan.

Waiting for them at the base of the platform were Susan Ivanova and Nelena Cain, who looked underdressed being in just civilian clothes. "That sha'neyat stuff tastes like crap!" Starbuck said, making a face as she remembered the bitterness of the drink.

"Don't say I didn't warn you!" Ivanova joked. "I would have loved to have spat that stuff out of my mouth during my ceremony!"

"I'm glad you didn't, because the scandal would have been massive!" Delenn said with delicious horror in her eyes. All four of them knew that it wasn't a stretch at all, because the caste elders and members of the Gray Council would have been deeply offended should Ivanova have done something so rash.

The reception that night was truly special, as it was a reunion for all those who Starbuck had been close to during the Second Cylon War. Galen the technomage and his wife Dureena were here, as well as the other technomage Andromeda, who still looked much like she had when Starbuck first met her almost twenty years before. Alwyn, sadly, had passed away from natural causes some four years before, and G'Leel represented him in spirit, standing next to her friend Na'Toth, who had retired from the Rangers to study Colonial religion to assist them in their efforts to preserve their culture.

Also there were Matthew and Elizabeth Gideon, as well as Lise and Mary Garibaldi, who were there to represent Michael Garibaldi, who had passed away six years before due to a stroke. Dr. Stephen Franklin was there, though, along with his wife, Dr. Sarah Chambers, who was on _Excalibur_ during the Drakh plague.

The next day, Ivanova asked Starbuck to walk with her to an isolated building near the edge of the Rangers complex. It was heavily guarded, and a place that Starbuck had never been to before. "I have a favor to ask of you." Ivanova asked as they entered the small building, which housed a tube of some sort as well as a machine that looked like it maintained whatever was inside.

Ivanova set her hand upon the tube and said to Starbuck, "In this tube is someone very special to me."

"Marcus Cole?" Starbuck asked.

Ivanova nodded and went on, "I want you to make sure that he is kept in stasis until there is a way to revive him. If it can't be done before you die, then make sure that whoever comes after you keep this pledge. It means a lot to me, and I'll kick your ass even if I'm dead if you should fail me in this."

"I'll make sure it's well maintained, and I'll keep your pledge, Susan. You're like a mother to me, after all, more so than the woman that gave birth to me."

Ivanova was touched by what Starbuck said and touched her on the cheek, saying, "If that's the case, then you've made me proud to be your mother figure. If I were your real mother, I would be extremely proud to have a daughter like you!"

They hugged and cried for a few moments, enjoying the presence of each other. "You'll be a great Entil'zha, Kara! Just know that I'm proud of you and I have faith in you!" Ivanova said.

"I know, Susan! I'll make you proud!" Starbuck replied.

They left the building and headed over to the spaceport, where Nelena Cain waited for them. Cain hugged Starbuck and said, "You've come a long way, Kara. You'll be an excellent leader for the Rangers!"

"Thanks, Nelena. You've come a long way yourself!" Starbuck replied.

"Yeah, I know I have. Back when we first met, I was a very different person. Broken, lost, full of darkness and hate." Cain looked over at Ivanova, smiled, and said, "Then I met Susan, and light came back into my life. Thanks to her, I've become a much better person!"

"I'm glad of it. I hope that you and Susan have many joyful years together!" Starbuck said, hugging Cain again before she and Susan boarded the shuttle that would take them to the liner bound for Earth.

Starbuck and her husband had to ready the home where the Entil'zha lived for their three rowdy kids. Originally designed and built for Valen, it had been the home to Ivanova and Cain ever since they became romantically involved. It took them a few days to move all their stuff from their former residence to the new home, and their kids were excited to have a new place to run amuck in.

On the night when they finally completed moving in, and once the kids were asleep, Starbuck and her husband finally got a chance to celebrate her ascension to her new position in the way they wished. Once they were done, Starbuck lay down beside her husband and snuggled up to him, smiling in the afterglow as well as the feeling of happiness that seemed to be ever present these days. She realized that it wouldn't last, and that feeling made her hold onto Samuel a little tighter as they fell asleep.


	100. Epilogue

**Thirteen**

**Chapter One Hundred**

**Epilogue**

Sharon Godfrey loved history with a passion. She loved books about the history of the Gaian race especially since she first learned about their history as a child in temple. She loved going to the sites where the past Colonial civilization once resided until the mechanical Cylons had created the Gaians to use against them. That part of their history was looked upon with shame still to this day, even after a thousand years.

She worked at the Delphi Museum of the Colonies, which preserved the history of those that had lived here before the holocaust. From the time when the Gaians had revolted against their mechanical creators and won their redemption until now, the museum had expanded greatly, mostly due to the interaction with the thirteenth colony of Earth.

As she walked home from work one evening, a gust of wind slightly disheveled some of her light brown hair. She set it to rights and made her way back to her apartment, where her fiancé, William Biers, was waiting for her. It was Redemption Day weekend, which was the major secular holiday among those who lived in the Gaian system. They had plans to travel to Caprica City for the thousand year anniversary celebrations, and Sharon looked forward to meeting those who lived on the world of the Lord of Kobol.

While Delphi remained the spiritual and cultural heart of the system, Caprica City was the capital of the twelve Gaian Colonies. The embassy of the Interstellar Alliance was there, a beautiful complex that had a distinctive Minbari feel. It was heavily leaded, as long term exposure to the radiation from the nuclear blasts of a thousand years before still could harm those who weren't Gaian.

She didn't worry too much about missing out on the celebrations in Delphi, because the city would be celebrating the anniversary for the rest of the year. She already had worked on plans for exhibits dealing with the Colonial discovery of the Earthers, which was the beginning of the end of the Second Cylon War. Sadly, there wouldn't be any representatives from Earth for these celebrations.

Five hundred years ago, Earth had become divided into two factions: one that wanted to break away from the Interstellar Alliance, and another who favored staying in it. Tensions rose over the course of a couple of decades and, despite the best efforts of the Interstellar Alliance, a devastating war broke out that almost rendered Earth uninhabitable.

Sharon had heard about the project that the Rangers had undertaken to help the survivors of the war, dubbed by them as "the Great Burn", rediscover the knowledge discreetly. The survivors distrusted technology with a passion, and the Rangers were slowly bringing the Earthers around to finding the lost knowledge on their own. Many Kobolian Rangers were involved in this project, as well as a good many Gaian Rangers, because both societies saw Earth as their thirteenth Colony.

Involved in this project was Lauren Godfrey, Sharon's sister, who was a Ranger and lived among the Earthers. Gaian Rangers were especially cut out for duty on Earth because of the fact that the long lost Cylons had designed the Gaians to be resistant to radiation. Lauren loved the challenge of helping the humans rebuild, but had to be careful not to be discovered as who she really was. She worked with an order of monks who were interested in restoring the ancient knowledge, who were lead by Brother Alwyn Macomber, a fellow Ranger.

Sharon stopped thinking about the project as she slid her key into the lock of her apartment and was greeted to the smells of William's cooking. He loved to cook, which was a good thing because Sharon had horrible culinary skills. William worked at the University of Delphi as a history professor, and they had met three years before when he had been assign to help her design the exhibit of the Great Burn on Earth.

"Hey, love! How was work?" William asked as he kissed her cheek upon receiving an embrace from her. She could smell garlic, an ancient Earth plant that had been safely brought to Caprica for cultivation and used in cooking, on his breath. William had a preference for Italian cooking, specifically that of the southern part of the country, located on a boot-like peninsula on the European continent.

"Good. We've finished up on the Starbuck exhibit, thanks to the Anla'shok Historical Society, so it's ready for the opening on Saturday!"

"Great! Now we can really enjoy our four-day weekend in Caprica City! Harold and Eunice are taking us to that play that's become a big hit in the theater district there. _Galactica Before Earth_ has an actor who looks so much like Admiral William Adama that it's eerie, from what Harold said."

Harold was William's brother and he worked as a political journalist for the _Caprican Times_, while his wife Eunice worked as a high school drama teacher. Sharon liked them and looked forward to seeing them again as she sat down at the dining table for William's specialty, which was chicken Parmesan.

The next day, they took their skimmer over to Harold Biers' place, which lay in the suburbs of Caprica City. They went to another play that Friday night, which was about the first tumultuous years of Gaian population of the former Colonial worlds. To their dismay, it wasn't that great, tending to be a bit cynical about the past and dismissive of the contributions of the ancient Colonials to healing the rift caused by the Second Cylon War.

The next day, on their way back from a major celebration of the anniversary at Colonial Stadium, Sharon unexpectedly bumped into her sister Lauren at a bookshop just south of the Forum in Caprica. "Lauren! My Gods, what are you doing here?" Sharon said as she embraced her sister.

"I came to see you, in fact. I was going to make it a surprise at your place, but I found out from your landlord that you'd traveled here for the celebrations. Since I figured you'd probably be with William's brother during the weekend, I came here and was on my way to his place when I stopped here to browse for some books!"

"Well it's great to see you again, sis! How are things on Earth?" Sharon asked.

"That's part of what I want to talk to you about. Can I talk to you and William alone for a few moments? I need to ask you something." Lauren said.

Harold and Eunice nodded, and Harold said, "Sure, we'll just head back to our place and get a start on making lunch. We'll catch up with you three later on! Great to see you again Lauren, and if you want to stop by for lunch today, you're more than welcome to come by!"

Lauren smiled and said, "I'll do that! Thanks Harold!" Harold and Eunice departed and left the three alone in the bookstore. "There's a coffee house just a block from here. Would you like to chat down there?"

"Sounds good to me! Let me just pay for my books and we can head down there!" Sharon said, going over to the counter and getting out her cubits to pay for her books, which was a bit awkward, since she had an armful of books. Once they were paid for, William toted half of them in a shopping bag for his love, something that he had come to accept whenever his wife came across a bookstore.

They managed to get a table despite the rush because of the holiday and sat down to order. All three ordered double lattes and chit chatted as they imbibed the hot, frothy drink. "So what is it about Earth that you wanted to discuss with us, Lauren?" William asked.

"Have you ever heard of a technomage?" Lauren asked.

"Yes, I've heard about them. According to history, the last one of them died nine hundred years ago. Their technology was a descendant of an ancient, powerful race known as the Shadows, and once the Shadows left the galaxy, they were effectively doomed. I've heard about Galen, who helped our race reclaim our worlds ages ago. He and his wife Dureena traveled among the worlds to help our ancestors settle in. Why?" William replied.

"Ever heard of a technomage known as Andromeda?"

Sharon said, "I think I remember that she was a friend of the Earth president Garrison Hollifield and went by the name Andrea Medina, but I'm not sure if that's accurate. Why?"

"I think I may have found the ruins of her place of power. It's in a rugged, mountainous area of the North American continent, near a village called Boone."

William snapped his fingers and said, "That's right! Andromeda taught at the university there, Atlantic State or Appalachian State or something like that. I can't remember exactly what it was called. I remember reading about her in a biography of President Hollifield years ago."

"That's correct. Entil'zha Roslyn Adama has asked me to head up a project to assist the monks I work with to set up another monastery there to dig up the ancient knowledge. I accepted and thought about asking you two to help me!"

Sharon's eyes went wide with excitement. "Oh my Gods! Earth? I've always dreamed of going there!"

William asked his fiancée, "So does this mean you want to go?"

"Of course! The chance is too good to pass up! Lauren, when do we get started?"

"Well, you have to go to Minbar first for some training, but we could be on Earth as soon as three months from now, if you're able to get a sabbatical from your jobs. I should warn you, though, that most Earthers follow a monotheistic faith, which takes some getting used to, especially since our original faith caused us to go down a path of destruction."

"That was a false God, created by the Cylons to blind us to the Lords of Kobol. Once our ancient ancestors accepted the faith of the Colonials, we've been blessed by a thousand years of peace." William said.

"That may be true, but the Earthers still hold onto their beliefs of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and other single god religions. It takes some getting used to when they refer to the one God." Lauren replied.

"How bad is it on Earth?" Sharon asked.

Lauren sighed and said, "It's worse than I thought it would be. Village life is predominant and religious belief is omnipresent, as well as a serious suspicion of technology. They see it as responsible for the Great Burn, and, thus, being wicked. So we have to be careful, especially considering that we were once considered technology ourselves."

When the weekend was over, Sharon and William went back to their employers to get their permission to go on sabbatical to Earth. With a little arm-twisting, they managed to get what they wanted, and were soon on their way to Minbar for their training. They would become Rangers in this process, which would help them cope with the rigors of working on what was essentially a backward, underdeveloped world.

Sharon and William arrived at the airport that once served the city of Asheville in the mountains of what was once known as North Carolina. No one lived here anymore, since the city had been wiped out during the Great Burn. They trekked along an ancient highway, up steep mountainsides until they got to the ruins of what was once Appalachian State University. Brother Alwyn, named after one of the ancient technomages, shivered against the coolness of the oncoming fall weather as he met them on the campus.

"Blessed Sister Lauren! It is such a joy to see you again, and I see you have brought Brother William and Sister Sharon with you like you said you would!" Alwyn said.

"Yes, they were eager to come up here and practice their faith." Lauren replied. They were all dressed in the monastic robes common to the ancient Catholic faith, which Sharon had trouble believing. Their cover story was that they had been transferred from a seminary along the coast of Virginia to assist the monks with building a monastery here on the ruins of what was once a thriving university campus.

That night, as they sat by the fire in a cabin just off campus, Sharon took her sister Lauren aside and asked, "Do you think we could go see the ancestral home of our ancient matriarch?"

"That of Shelly Godfrey?" Lauren asked, and Sharon nodded. "I'm not sure if it exists. Tulsa and almost all of Oklahoma was hit really badly during the Great Burn, and I don't know if anyone lives out there anymore. However, there is that big highway that we saw when we flew into Asheville that I know leads there, though not to Tulsa. It's in rough condition, so it would be slow going. We'd have to find a map to see how to get to Tulsa from there, though. Why?"

"I had a dream of her last night and I've always wondered what she had been like, being fully human and all."

Lauren nodded and said, "I'll talk to Brother Alwyn about this. I don't know if he'll go along with it, or, if he does, when we can go out there, but I'll do my best!"

The sisters embraced and Lauren went back to her cabin for the night. William handled the cooking that night, since he was more likely to adapt to cooking over an open fire than she was. When they finished dinner that night, they went to bed, and Sharon dreamt of the woman who had once served as the model for their race.

Sharon knew that Dr. Shelly Godfrey eventually became a well-renown neurologist on Earth, and her sons had used part of their inheritance from her to establish a medical center on the campus of her alma mater, the University of Oklahoma.

The other humans that had served as the models for the first generation of human Cylons had went their various ways. Simon Powell had become one of Earth's most famous college basketball coaches. Dr. Leo Conoy and his hospital administrative friend Aaron Doral had moved to Kobol to establish a medical school there, which bore their names to this day. Sharon Valerii served briefly as defense minister in the Earth Alliance government before accepting a position with the Interstellar Alliance. William Keikeya had retired from Hollywood and opened a acting and screenwriting school in New York with Felix Gaeta, who helped run the place until they both died.

Clarissa Cally taught political science and interstellar relations at Georgetown University until she died. D'anna Biers lived with Garrison Hollifield and helped establish his presidential library on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Asheville. Adam Valance, Adriana Davis, and Lauren Ross had gone their own way and had fallen into relative obscurity, which was something that all three of them seemed not to mind.

Matthew and Elizabeth Gideon taught at the Earthforce Academy after the war was over, and their children helped to establish the Gideon Military Institute on the site of what was once known as The Citadel, a military college that had been wiped out by a hurricane in 2260 and had been left to rot during the years after the destruction. After retiring from the Academy, the Gideons had moved to Charleston, South Carolina and lived out their remaining years rebuilding the school.

Delenn managed to hang on until 2378, when she finally passed away. A few months after that, her son David passed away as well, having spent the last few years of his life helping to care for his dying mother. They had buried him along with his mother in the same area where the remains of Marcus Cole still were held in suspension.

Buried in that same cemetery were Susan Ivanova and Nelena Cain, who lived well past one hundred. They had spent their remaining years on Earth, writing about their lives and touring campuses doing lectures, and they also helped the Gideons rebuild The Citadel.

All that had been lost in the Great Burn, but, like the Gaians had done with the Colonial worlds that had been destroyed in the Cylon attacks, they could rebuild what had been lost. It would never be the same again, but they had an obligation to rebuild it. The Earthers had helped them to overthrow the Cylon control over them, so it was settling a debt of honor with them by doing this. So much had been lost in the Cylon attacks, but so much had managed to survive, and Sharon hoped that the same would hold true to the thirteenth colony.

The next morning, she woke up before William did. She slid out of bed, dug out a couple of items from her backpack, and took them over to the window to pray as the sun began to rise in the east. In her hands were idols of Apollo and Aphrodite, the very ones that former Entil'zha Kara "Starbuck" Thrace had once owned so long ago. She had willed them to an ancient ancestor of hers, one Gina Godfrey, and they had passed down to her.

She looked out at the mountains in the distance and began to pray, "Lords of Kobol, hear my prayer…"


End file.
